Scientific name: Bubo bubo (Linnaeus, 1758)
Bird group: Owls
Field characters. 60-75 cm. Female larger than male. About the size of an eagle. Mainly brown with many dark spots and streaks. On underparts, streaks densest on upper chest, becoming fewer in number down to legs. Face greyish, unstreaked, with large orange eyes. Long dark ear tufts. Under tail-coverts fluffy. Usually seen as a dark shadow, because mainly nocturnal, but sometimes sunbathing on rock ledges.
Voice. Song of male a low and far carrying 'oo-hoo'.
Distribution. Resident. Rare and decreasing, but locally more common.
Habitat. Variety of remote and virgin habitats, like mountains, woods, moorland, but often hunting in agricultural areas.
Food. Large mammals (like hares and rabbits) and birds (like pheasants and ducks).