One of the 10 owls on WAnimals
Birds · Strigiformes · Strigidae
Brown Fish-Owl
Ketupa zeylonensis
The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary
It is the most widely distributed of the world's four fish owls. Unlike most owls, it lacks the soft fringes on the primary feathers that make flight silent.
Weight
1.1 kg – 2.5 kg
Size
48 cm – 61 cm
Lifespan
15 years
Diet
Piscivore
Feeds mainly on fish.
Activity
Nocturnal
Active mainly at night.
Social structure
Solitary
Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.
Sighting difficulty
Easy
Fun facts
- It is the most widely distributed fish owl in the world.
- It lacks the soft feather fringes that give other owls their silent flight.
- It eats fish, frogs and crabs, wading in the shallows.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - pneumatised bony skeleton (bird)
- Habitat & environment
- Woodland and wooded wetlands near rivers, lakes and rice paddies from Turkey to South and South East Asia
- Birth weight
- Exact weight at hatching not found as a precise figure
- Size at birth
- Altricial at hatching
- Sexual maturity
- Not precisely known
- Gestation / incubation
- ~38 days
- Litter / clutch size
- 1 to 2 eggs per clutch
Sources consulted: Birda; Guardians of Ga'Hoole Wiki (referencia biológica); Planet of Birds; Animalia.bio; Wikipedia (Brown fish owl); eBird; Birds of the World
Where to find it
See its range on the interactive mapBest time: All year round in southern and South-East Asia, at dusk, perched on low branches over rivers, canals and reservoirs.
Where to watch it
Parques y spots de buceo donde se ha documentado esta especie — se muestran 10 de 19 documentados.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Brown Fish-Owl — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Eurasian Scops Owl
Otus scops
Long-eared Owl
Asio otus
Boreal Owl
Aegolius funereus
Least ConcernTawny Owl
Strix aluco
Common Krait
Bungarus caeruleus
Blakiston's Eagle-owl
Bubo blakistoni
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about brown fish-owl.
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