Brown Wood Owl

The brown wood owl is a medium-large owl without ear tufts, 45–57cm long. Its upperparts are uniformly dark brown with faint white spotting on the shoulders, its underparts buff with brown streaks, and it has a white neckband. The facial disc is brown or rufous, edged white and without concentric barring, and the eyes are dark brown. The sexes look alike. Fourteen subspecies are recognised, some of which differ in voice and appearance and may be separate species (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is highly nocturnal and lives in dense forest, where small birds that mob it at its roost may reveal it. It feeds on small mammals, birds and reptiles. Its calls include a hoo hoo hoo HOO, a deep goke-goke-ga-LOOO and a loud scream, and its alarm call is a barking wow-wow. SoIB 2023 lists it as a resident forest bird in India but gives no trend or priority (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).