Tawny owl

    Strix aluco

Castilian: Cárabo común

Catalan: Gamarús

Gallego: Avelaiona

Euskera: Urubia

CLASIFICACIÓN:

Orden: Strigiformes

Family: Strigidae

Migratory status: Permanent resident

CONSERVATION STATUS:

On the National List of Threatened Species, it appears in the “Of Special Interest” category. In the 2004 edition of the Red Book of Spanish Birds (Libro Rojo de las Aves de España) it is listed as “Not Evaluated”..

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THREATS

It adapts quite well to alterations in its habitat, but it is affected by the elimination of old trees, being run over by vehicles, electrical cables and toxic agricultural products, especially among the youngest birds.

Length / size: 37-43 cm / 81-96 cm

Identification: Medium-sized bird of prey with a large head, two white stripes that form eyebrows and black beady eyes. Its plumage is mimetic and can be different colours: shades of brown, greyish, and red, but in all specimens exists a complex pattern of dots, bars and VERMICULADOS that mimic tree bark to an extraordinary degree.

Song: It makes a mournful sound, with repeated sequences of long and short notes: "houuuu, ho ho ho, houuuuu".

Diet: Its food source varies depending on the time of year and the place, but it prefers moles, rats, mice, dormice, etc. It is not unusual to see it also hunting rabbits, reptiles, amphibians, and different kinds of birds.

Reproduction: The birds begin to be on heat in December/January. The female chooses a nesting site in hollow old trees, human structures, caves in chasms or other birds' nests. The nest is a depression without any other material, and the female also incubates the eggs.

HABITAT

It occupies places from river meadows to urban parks, grasslands and small woods. It can also live in chasms, sandy walls and human structures, such as irrigation ditches, ruins, country houses, etc.

DISTRIBUTION

In Spain: It is distributed throughout the Iberian Peninsula, Ceuta and Melilla, but is absent in the Balearic and Canary Islands.

In Castile and León: It breeds in all the provinces.

Movements and migrations: It is a strictly resident species.

POPULATION

In Spain: There is an estimated population of 45000-60000 breeding pairs.

In Castile and León: There is an estimated population of 4000-5500 breeding pairs.