Typical Owls (Strigidae)

Tawny Owl (Strix aluco) - HBW 5, p. 198

French: Chouette hulotte German: Waldkauz Spanish: Cárabo Común
Other common names: Eurasian Tawny Owl/Wood-owl, Tawny Wood-owl

Taxonomy: Strix Aluco Linnaeus, 1758, Sweden.
Probably forms superspecies with S. butleri; formerly considered to include latter as race. Geographical limits of races obscure; nominate aluco intergrades with siberiae and sylvatica with sanctinicolai. Several additional races named, but considered probably not acceptable because of species’ considerable individual variation and polymorphy; populations from Iberia, Asia Minor and Middle East sometimes separated as clanceyi, those from SW Russia as volhyniae, and those from S Caspian as obscurata. Eleven subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution:

aluco Linnaeus, 1758 - N & E Europe E to W Russia (Ural Mts), S to Alps, Balkans and Black Sea; intergrades with .
siberiae Dementiev, 1933 - from Ural Mts to W Siberia.
sylvatica Shaw, 1809 - Britain, France and Iberia; probably this race also from S Italy and Greece E to W & C Turkey and Middle East; intergrades with sanctinicolai.

See all 11 subspecies

aluco Linnaeus, 1758 - N & E Europe E to W Russia (Ural Mts), S to Alps, Balkans and Black Sea; intergrades with .
siberiae Dementiev, 1933 - from Ural Mts to W Siberia.
sylvatica Shaw, 1809 - Britain, France and Iberia; probably this race also from S Italy and Greece E to W & C Turkey and Middle East; intergrades with sanctinicolai.
mauritanica (Witherby, 1905) - NW Africa (Morocco to Tunisia).
willkonskii (Menzbier, 1896) - NE Turkey, Caucasus and NW Iran, E to Turkmeniya.
sanctinicolai (Zarudny, 1905) - NE Iraq and W Iran.
harmsi (Zarudny, 1911) - Turkestan.
biddulphi Scully, 1881 - Pakistan and NW India.
nivicola (Blyth, 1845) - Nepal E to SE China, S to N Myanmar and N Indochina.
ma (Clark, 1907) - NE China (Jilin) and Korea.
yamadae Yamashina, 1936 - Taiwan.