Tawny owl
- The tawny owl, unlike the barn owl or the eagle owl, poorly tolerates bright light. For it, a dark corner or a hollow is always necessary.
Age
The brown owl’s typical lifespan is from fifteen to twenty years, with a maximum recorded lifespan of twenty-two years and five months, and a theoretical lifespan ranging from fifteen years and three months to twenty-one years and nine months. The species reaches sexual maturity from six months and three weeks to two years of age. During the "Embryo" stage, the embryo develops inside an egg and is nourished by the yolk. The "Nestling" stage occurs when the owlet is in a tree cavity and is fed pieces of prey by its parents; this stage lasts from one month to one month and two weeks. Following this, the “Rapid Growth Juvenile” stage sees the young owl leave the cavity and learn to fly and hunt independently, lasting from two months to one year. The "Adult" stage begins when the brown owl can reproduce and obtain food independently, and lasts from one to twenty years.
Phenotype
The young owlet has downy plumage that retains body heat; after a period of rapid growth, the species’ plumage aids in silent flight and provides camouflage among trees. An adult brown owl possesses a short, strong, hooked beak for tearing meat, and large dark eyes that allow for good nighttime vision. The facial disc is round and directs sounds to the ears, enabling precise prey location in darkness; the species also has sharp, powerful claws for capturing and killing prey. Plumage of the adult is soft, allowing for nearly silent flight, and exhibits either reddish-brown or gray color forms.
Physiology
The tawny owl’s body length ranges from 35 to 43 centimeters, with a mass between 489 grams and 0.53 kilograms; its wingspan measures 0.99 meters. The embryo stage has a body mass of 15 to 25 grams. During the nestling stage, the young have a body mass from 50 to 250 grams and a body length of 10 to 20 centimeters. The post-fledging stage shows the young with a body mass between 350 and 480 grams and a body length of 35 to 40 centimeters. Adult individuals have a body mass from 450 grams to 0.65 kilograms and a body length from 37 to 43 centimeters.
Habitat
The tawny owl occupies habitats at elevations up to 2 kilometers; the species is found in temperate mixed forests with warm summers and many oak, birch, and maple trees, flooded meadows where water frequently covers the ground and there is abundant grass, and taiga forests characterized by cold winters and numerous coniferous trees such as spruce and pine. The landscape consists of land and woodland; the climate is consistently very wet with frequent rain and high humidity, and it can also feature many rains and a cool summer, snow in winter, a warm summer with many rains, a warm summer, or a comfortable summer with temperatures between 20 and 25 degrees Celsius.
Shelter
The tawny owl resides in the hollows of old trees or in old buildings; the species constructs or utilizes a nest structure for laying eggs and raising young. The nest serves as a place of shelter.
Geography
The tawny owl occupies the Palearctic biogeographical region and is found in several distinct ecosystems, including Celtic broadleaf forests, broadleaf forests of Western Europe, coniferous forests of the Qilian Mountains, Balkan mixed forests, Baltic mixed forests, and European Atlantic mixed forests.
Feeding
The tawny owl feeds on small animals, hunting nocturnally using its sense of hearing; it flies silently, listening for rustling sounds and seizing prey with its claws from the ground or branches. The species’ diet includes rodents, small mammals, birds, and insects, such as garden dormice, squirrels, gray voles, Asian tube-nosed bats, rats, canary finches, and Eurasian hedgehogs. The hunting strategy involves active pursuit and ambush. The daily food requirement ranges from 40 grams to 80 grams.
Reproduction
The grey owl forms a pair for many years, the species' breeding interval is 1 year. The female lays eggs in a cavity and incubates them for 3 weeks 5 days, while the male brings food. Clutch size is 2–4 chicks, which reach maturity from 1 to 2 years.