Brown Wood Owl

Strix leptogrammica

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered

KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
PhylumChordata (Chordates)
ClassAves (Birds)
OrderStrigiformes (Owls)
FamilyStrigidae (Typical Owls)
GenusStrix (Wood Owls and Allies)
SpeciesStrix leptogrammica (Brown Wood Owl)

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

at Tanjung Puting National Park

2 Verified sightings at Tanjung Puting National Park From 2019 to 2026

941 Verified sightings across all 35 parks From 2019 to 2026

☀️🌙 Day & Night When it's spotted Active throughout day and night

About the Brown Wood Owl

The brown wood owl (Strix leptogrammica) is found in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Taiwan, and south China. The brown wood owl is a resident breeder in south Asia. This species is a part of the family of owls known as typical owls (Strigidae), which contains most species of owl. It belongs to the earless owl genus Strix.

The brown wood owl is medium large (45–57 cm), with upperparts uniformly dark brown, with faint white spotting on the shoulders. The underparts are buff with brown streaking. The facial disc is brown or rufous, edged with white and without concentric barring, and the eyes are dark brown. There is a white neckband. The sexes are similar in appearance.

Their call is a (hoo) hoo hoo HOO, or a deep goke-goke-ga-LOOO, or a loud scream. Their alarm call is a bark, wow-wow. Some subspecies are known to produce distinct vocalizations; they are also different in appearance and parapatric, and might be distinct species: The northern Strix (leptogrammica) newarensis group (Himalayan wood-owl; present subspecies newarensis, ticehursti, laotiana and caligata) which occur from the Himalayan foothills of Kashmir east to Taiwan have a soft low to-hooh not unlike a rock dove cooing. S. (l.) bartelsi (Bartels's wood-owl), Javan wood-owl from Java, the southeasternmost taxon, has a loud, forceful, single HOOH! with long pauses between calls.

This species is highly nocturnal and is commonly found in dense forests. It can often be located by the small birds that mob it while it is roosting in a tree. The diet of the brown wood owl consists mainly of small mammals, birds, and reptiles. Wikipedia →

Closest Relatives at Tanjung Puting National Park

Otus rufescens

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Global Distribution

Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.

where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there

Parks Where Found

#	Park	Country	Daily sighting probability
1	Danum Valley Conservation Area	🇲🇾 Malaysia	~10%
2	Way Kambas National Park	🇮🇩 Indonesia	~10%
3	Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary	🇲🇾 Malaysia	~10%
4	Mudumalai National Park	🇮🇳 India	~10%
5	Khao Sok National Park	🇹🇭 Thailand	<5%
6	Kinabalu Park	🇲🇾 Malaysia	<5%
7	Cuc Phuong National Park	🇻🇳 Vietnam	<5%
8	Gunung Leuser National Park	🇮🇩 Indonesia	<5%
9	Royal Bardia National Park	🇳🇵 Nepal	<5%
10	Khao Luang National Park	🇹🇭 Thailand	<5%
11	Khao Yai National Park	🇹🇭 Thailand	<5%
12	Kaeng Krachan National Park	🇹🇭 Thailand	<5%
13	Wilpattu National Park	🇱🇰 Sri Lanka	<5%
14	Doi Inthanon National Park	🇹🇭 Thailand	<5%
15	Nagarhole National Park	🇮🇳 India	<5%
16	Yala National Park	🇱🇰 Sri Lanka	<5%
17	Royal Manas National Park	🇧🇹 Bhutan	<5%
18	Namdapha National Park	🇮🇳 India	<5%
19	Sepilok	🇲🇾 Malaysia	<5%
20	Taman Negara National Park	🇲🇾 Malaysia	<5%
21	Kanha National Park	🇮🇳 India	<5%
22	Khangchendzonga National Park	🇮🇳 India	Insufficient data
23	Eravikulam National Park	🇮🇳 India	Insufficient data
24	Tanjung Puting National Park	🇮🇩 Indonesia	Insufficient data
25	Horton Plains National Park	🇱🇰 Sri Lanka	Insufficient data
26	Minneriya National Park	🇱🇰 Sri Lanka	Insufficient data
27	Sinharaja Forest Reserve	🇱🇰 Sri Lanka	Insufficient data
28	Satpura National Park	🇮🇳 India	Insufficient data
29	Cat Tien National Park	🇻🇳 Vietnam	Insufficient data
30	Jim Corbett National Park	🇮🇳 India	Insufficient data
31	Chitwan National Park	🇳🇵 Nepal	Insufficient data
32	Bandhavgarh National Park	🇮🇳 India	Insufficient data
33	Periyar National Park	🇮🇳 India	Insufficient data
34	Kaziranga National Park	🇮🇳 India	Insufficient data
35	Manas National Park	🇮🇳 India	Insufficient data

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