Bird species profile

Striped Owl

Asio clamator

Order: Strigiformes
Family: Strigidae

A closer look

Illustrated identification

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Adult / Adulto

About the species

The Striped Owl has long, prominent ear tufts and a pale facial disc outlined in black. Dark streaks run down the cream-coloured breast and belly, while the back and folded wings are mottled brown and buff. Its honey-brown eyes and bold facial outline help distinguish it from the yellow-eyed Short-eared Owl.

It may rest in dense foliage or on the ground and hunt from exposed perches beside open country. Near the southern end of its range, in Argentine Patagonia, records are local and scattered. Wooded patches within farmland and other open habitats are particularly relevant to its occurrence in the region.

In our region. In 2025, our guides, working with local researchers, documented the first occurrence and breeding records of the Striped Owl in Chubut. Adults and two young were observed in the Lower Chubut Valley during May and June. These observations formed the basis of a paper in Nuestras Aves co-authored by Agustín Esmoris (Formoso, Esmoris, Podestá & Udrizar Sauthier, 2025).

Habitat

Open country with scattered trees and bushes, grassland and farmland. The Chubut breeding record came from a wooded area adjoining cultivated fields in the Lower Chubut Valley.

Foraging

Small mammals, especially rodents, and birds; insects are also recorded. Pellet studies in Buenos Aires Province document this varied diet (Isacch et al., 2000).

Cover photograph: Agustín Esmoris.

Published record

First occurrence and breeding records in Chubut

Nuestras Aves 70 (2025): 121–124

Anahí E. Formoso, Agustín Esmoris, Darío H. Podestá & Daniel E. Udrizar Sauthier

Read the paper

Source

Formoso, A. E., Esmoris, A., Podestá, D. H. & Udrizar Sauthier, D. E. (2025). Primer registro de presencia y nidificación del Lechuzón Orejudo (Asio clamator) en la provincia del Chubut. Nuestras Aves 70: 121–124.

Cornell Lab of Ornithology — Striped Owl identification and habitat.

Isacch, J. P., Bó, M. S. & Martínez, M. M. (2000). Food habits of the Striped Owl (Asio clamator) in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Journal of Raptor Research 34(3): 235–237.

Birding Puerto Madryn — Nuestras Aves 70 (2025), cover photograph by Agustín Esmoris.