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Species › Birds

Tawny Owl

Strix aluco

Order
Strigiformes
Family
Strigidae
Presence in the Strait
Resident
Abundance
abundant
Protection in Spain
Special protection (List)
In Spanish
Cárabo común

Photograph: caroline legg, CC BY, vía iNaturalist

Length
37–39 cm
Wingspan
94–104 cm
Weight
370–430 g
050100LENGTH37–39 cmWINGSPAN94–104 cmcentimetres

Presence in the Strait

Abundant resident in wooded areas. In this area, the distribution of two sub-species overlap: S. a. sylvatica (from Western Europe) and S. a. mauritanica (from North Africa). The sylvatica presents two colour phases, greyish-brown or reddish-brown. This latter is most frequent. The mauritanica only displays greyish-brown birds. The fact that reddish brown individuals are rare in the area may mean that the mauritanica is the most abundant and betterdistributed subspecies, while the sylvatica is scarce and very localised in the Iberian part of the Strait.

Identification

Medium-sized and stout with a large head, no ear-tufts and large, dark eyes; broad rounded wings. Very aggressive in the defence of their nests.

Movements

Sedentary with juvenile dispersal (<40 Km.), even crossing the Strait. Strigidae forma parda rufous phase Autillo Europeo forma gris grey phase Autillo Europeo Mochuelo Común forma parda rufous phase Cárabo Común forma gris / grey phase

Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.

Gallery

Photographs from iNaturalist observations with the licence checked file by file. Those marked “Strait” were taken within the area; place and date are those of each observation.