Birds / Owls

Tawny Owl

Strix aluco

Also known as Brown owl

Out and About All year Woodland Gardens Towns

Test yourself

Song: Yves Bas / xeno-canto · Call: our own listening station

Sounds like

Song

The famous hoot: a long 'hooo', a pause, then a wavering 'hu-hu-hu-hoooo'.

Call 'Ke-wick' call

A sharp, rising 'ke-wick!', often answering the hoots. Heard most in autumn, when young owls are finding territories of their own.

Recorded at our listening station in Chobham, September and October 2026

Remember it

'Twit-twoo' is really two owls: one calls 'ke-wick', another hoots back. Loudest in autumn and winter, after dark.

When and where

Listening for the tawny owl

Heard: JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
All year round
Time of day: Dusk and Night
Where: Woodland, Gardens, Towns
In Britain: All year
Family: Owls

Side by side

Often confused with

Play them one after the other and listen for the difference.

Tawny Owl

Strix aluco

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'Twit-twoo' is really two owls: one calls 'ke-wick', another hoots back. Loudest in autumn and winter, after dark.

'Ke-wick' call

Wood Pigeon

Columba palumbus

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'My toe bleeds, Betty': five beats, with the stress on the second.

Could you pick out a tawny owl?

Hear a song, choose from four birds, and build your streak.

Play the quiz

Same habitat

Also in woodland

See all

Blackbird

Turdus merula

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Slow, rich, fluting phrases that wander about and often trail off into a quiet chuckle.

Blue Tit

Cyanistes caeruleus

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Two or three thin, high notes followed by a fast, shimmering trill: 'tsee-tsee-tsuhuhuhu'.

Carrion Crow

Corvus corone

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A harsh, hoarse 'kraa-kraa-kraa', usually three or four calls in a row from a treetop, rooftop or aerial, each one flat and croaky.

Dunnock

Prunella modularis

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A hurried, flat, squeaky warble that stays on one level and stops abruptly, like a squeaky wheel turning.