The Tawny Owl is sometimes known as the ‘brown owl’ because of its brown colouring and also the ‘wood owl’ because of its preference for living in woods. It is very rarely seen as it roosts in tree hollows or very close up to the trunks of trees. Sometimes it roosts amongst the leaves of ivy plants. It can be found throughout England in woodlands and sometimes on farmlands, in parks and churchyards with large trees.

The Tawny Owl has reddish brown upperparts with darker brown and white markings. It also has white broken lines running down the length of its wings. It has a ring of dark brown feathers around its brown face and two large black eyes. It is regarded as quite a friendly-looking owl. It also has long white eyebrows that run down to its beak and white ‘moustache’ feathers that almost hide the beak. It looks like it has a flat face because its beak points downwards. The Barn Owl can move its neck in almost every direction so it can get a better view all round.

Tawny Owls mainly hunt at night from perches where they patiently wait for any unsuspecting prey to pass by. They eat voles, mice, shrews, frogs, beetles, worms and sometimes small birds which are caught in flight. Tawny Owls have a wingspan of around eighty-five to ninety centimetres and they can fly very fast and very direct.