Typical Owls (Strigidae)

Northern Long-eared Owl (Asio otus) - HBW 5, p. 240

French: Hibou moyen-duc German: Waldohreule Spanish: Búho Chico
Other common names: (Common) Long-eared Owl

Taxonomy: Strix Otus Linnaeus, 1758, Sweden.
Forms superspecies with A. abyssinicus and A. madagascariensis, both of which have been treated as races of present species. Recent protein studies indicate unusually large genetic distance between present species and A. flammeus. Given nomadic tendencies of species, subspecific status of tuftsi questionable, possibly inseparable from wilsonianus. Four subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution:

otus (Linnaeus, 1758) - Eurasia, from British Is and Iberia E to Sea of Okhotsk, S to Mediterranean islands, Middle East, N Pakistan (has bred) and Japan, with isolated population in EC China; also Azores, and NW Africa (Morocco to NW Tunisia).
canariensis Madarász, 1901 - Canary Is.
tuftsi Godfrey, 1948 - W Canada (S Yukon, S British Columbia E to Saskatchewan) S to Mexico (NW Baja California, Nuevo Leon) and S USA (W Texas).
wilsonianus (Lesson, 1830) - from SC & SE Canada (Manitoba E to Nova Scotia) S in USA to N Oklahoma and Virginia.