Ural owl
Strix uralensis Pallas, 1771
The ural owl (Strix uralensis) is a bird of the owl family Strigidae, subfamily Striginae, in the order Strigiformes. It falls in the small size class, with an adult body mass of 780.6 g (from 689 to 878 g) and a wingspan of 1.145 m (from 95 cm to 1.34 m).
Quick facts about the ural owl
The ural owl is a sedentary, perching carnivore of forest habitats, with a geographic range of 12,220,000 km². It lays 1 clutch per year of 2.9 eggs, incubated for 28 days, and is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 689 g – 878 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 95 cm – 1.34 msrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 23.8 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Carnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 28 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2.8 – 2.9src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the ural owl?
Photos of the ural owl
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the ural owl live?
Not recorded
What is the ural owl?
The Ural owl (Strix uralensis) is a large nocturnal owl. It is a member of the true owl family, Strigidae. The Ural owl is a member of the genus Strix, that is also the origin of the family's name under Linnaean taxonomy. Both its common name and scientific name refer to the Ural Mountains of Russia where the type specimen was collected. However, this species has an extremely broad distribution that extends as far west as much of Scandinavia, montane eastern Europe, and, sporadically, central Europe, thence sweeping across the Palearctic broadly through Russia to as far east as Sakhalin and throughout Japan. The Ural owl may include up to 15 subspecies, but most likely the number may be slightly fewer if accounting for clinal variations.
This forest owl is typical associated with the vast taiga forest in Eurosiberia, although it ranges to other forest types, including mixed forests and temperate deciduous forest. The Ural owl is something of a dietary generalist like many members of the Strix genus, but it is usually locally reliant on small mammals, especially small rodents such as voles. In terms of its reproductive habits, Ural owls tend to vigorously protect a set territory on which they have historically nested on a variety of natural nest sites, including tree cavities and stumps and nests originally built by other birds but now, in many parts of the range are adapted to nest boxes made by biologists and conservationists. Breeding success is often strongly correlated with prey populations. The Ural owl is considered to be a stable bird species overall, with a conservation status per the IUCN as a least concern species. Despite some local decreases and extinctions, the Ural owl has been aided in central Europe by reintroductions.
From the Wikipedia article “Ural owl” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ural_owl&oldid=1380068110), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the ural owl sound like?
Is the ural owl endangered?
The ural owl is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the ural owl classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderStrigiformes
- familyStrigidae
- genusStrix
- SpeciesStrix uralensis Pallas, 1771
Synonyms Strix schumavensis, Stryx uralensis
Other names and names in other languages (60)
- بومة الأورالArabic
- بومة الاورالArabic
- Uzunquyruq yapalaqcaAzerbaijani
- Ҡауҡылдаҡ ябалаҡBashkir
- Даўгахвостая кугакаўкаBelarusian
- Уралска улулицаBulgarian
- Kaouenn-OuralBreton
- gamarús dels UralsCatalan
- Вӑрӑм хӱреллӗ тӑманаChuvash
- puštík bělavýCzech
- tylluan yr WralauWelsh
- SlagugleDanish
- UralkauzGerman
- HabichtskauzGerman
- Χουχουριστής Των ΟυραλίωνGreek
- urala strigoEsperanto
- Cárabo uralenseSpanish
- händkakkEstonian
- Uraletako urubiBasque
- جغد اوراسیاییPersian
- viirupöllöFinnish
- Chouette de l'OuralFrench
- Chouette de l’OuralFrench
- Víoda biorearrachIrish
- Hullad OoralaghManx
- לילית אורלHebrew
- jastrebačaCroatian
- Sova jastrebačaCroatian
- uráli bagolyHungarian
- ValuglaIcelandic
- Allocco degli UraliItalian
- フクロウJapanese
- ウラルフクロウJapanese
- Кезқұйрық жапалақKazakh
- 긴점박이올빼미Korean
- uralinė pelėdaLithuanian
- Uralu palādaLatgalian
- urālpūceLatvian
- уралска уткаMacedonian
- Уралска улулајкаMacedonian
- Хув уульMongolian
- OeraluilDutch
- puszczyk uralskiPolish
- coruja-dos-uraisPortuguese
- coruja-dos-uralesPortuguese
- Huhurez mareRomanian
- Уральская неясытьRussian
- Длиннохвостая неясытьRussian
- Уральска соваRusyn
- Үрүҥ хахханYakut
- GovuskuolfiNorthern Sami
- sova dlhochvostáSlovak
- kozačaSlovenian
- Dugorepa sovaSerbian
- Дугорепа соваSerbian
- slagugglaSwedish
- Ural BaykuşuTurkish
- сова довгохвостаUkrainian
- 長尾林鴞Chinese
- 长尾林鸮Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the ural owl
Other species in the same genus Strix.
Tawny owl
Strix aluco
Great grey owl
Strix nebulosa
Brown wood owl
Strix leptogrammica
Hoot owl
Strix varia
Omani owl
Strix butleri
Spotted owl
Strix occidentalis
CompareUral owl vs Tawny owlUral owl vs Great grey owlUral owl vs Brown wood owlUral owl vs Hoot owl
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the ural owl?
The ural owl is a bird, an owl of the family Strigidae in the order Strigiformes.
How heavy is a ural owl?
An adult Ural owl weighs 780.6 g, with reported values from 689 to 878 g. Its wingspan is 1.145 m, from 95 cm to 1.34 m.
Is the ural owl endangered?
No. The ural owl is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does a ural owl live?
The ural owl has a lifespan of 23.82 years, with values up to 23.83 years reported.
How many eggs does a ural owl lay?
The ural owl lays 2.9 eggs per clutch, with 1 clutch per year, and the eggs are incubated for 28 days.
Who named the ural owl?
The ural owl, Strix uralensis, was named by Pallas, 1771.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Ural owl (Strix uralensis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/ural-owl
“Ural owl (Strix uralensis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/ural-owl.
@misc{ural_owl_2026,
title = {Ural owl (Strix uralensis)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/ural-owl},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}