8 Owl Species That Live in Sweden! (2023)
What types of owls can you see in Sweden?
The above question is common, so I thought I’d help by making a list of all the individual owl species that live in Sweden.
The temptation to intersperse this entire article with puns is almost overwhelming. I could just wing it and beak-off about these birds all day long, but I really do give a hoot, and soon you would be talon me to stop it. Ok, settle down because that is owl you get. 🙂
owl species you can find in Sweden.
#1. Short-eared Owl
- Asio flammeus
Identifying Characteristics:
- Adults typically range from 34 to 43 centimeters long with a wingspan of 85 to 103 centimeters.
- Their coloring is mottled cream and dark brown, with lighter coloring under their wings.
- This species has yellow eyes, a gray beak, and a defined facial disk.
This mid-sized tawny-brown mottled owl is widely distributed across Sweden. These birds mostly hunt in the daytime when voles, their favorite meal, are active. Interestingly, they are one of the most common owls you can see during daylight hours!
Short-eared Owls are typically found in open country. Your best chance to spot them in Sweden is at dusk or dawn in fields, grasslands, meadows, or even airports.
These owls build their nests on the ground in open areas. If obliged to flee its nest to draw off a threat, the parent will poop on the eggs so that the smell will keep predators away. Short-eared Owls also lure enemies away from their nest by hopping away and pretending to be crippled.
Short-eared Owls are not particularly vocal. But when they do make noises, these birds have a call, oddly enough, that sounds an awful lot like a cat looking for a mate. LISTEN BELOW!
#2. Long-eared Owl
- Asio otus
Identifying Characteristics:
- Adults typically range from 31 to 40 centimeters long with a wingspan of 86 to 102 centimeters.
- The body is barred shades of brown and cream, with a gray and light brown face.
- This species has bright orange eyes, a black beak, and long ear tufts, which is where it gets its name.
Long-eared Owls are also known as the Cat Owl because of their cat-like facial features. They are secretive and roost in very dense foliage. Combined with their excellent camouflage, these owls are tough to spot in Sweden!
As you can see, these owls get their name from the long tufts of feathers on their heads. These ear tufts resemble exclamation points, so Long-eared Owls often seem like they have a surprised look on their face.
Amongst owls, these guys are unique by being quite sociable. They are known to live in clusters and even share roosts!
Since Long-eared Owls can be incredibly hard to see, the best way to locate them is to listen! During the mating season, males are pretty talkative. Their typical call is repeated 10 to 200 times and sounds like a low “hoo,” evenly spaced every few seconds.
#3. Tawny Owl
- Strix aluco
Identifying Characteristics:
- Adults are typically 38 to 46 centimeters long with a wingspan of 81 to 104 centimeters.
- Grayish-brown upperparts, underparts are whitish streaked with brown, wings and feathers are barred in shades of tawny brown and tipped with white.
- They have a pale olive-yellow beak, huge bluish-black eyes, and a dark-rimmed facial disc.
Tawny owls prefer deciduous and mixed forests with access to water. However, these owls occur in urban areas, particularly with patches of natural forest and wooded habitats! You can even spot them in cemeteries, gardens, and parks.
As nocturnal hunters, Tawny Owls remain silent on perches and glide down on unsuspecting prey. Woodland rodents make up most of their diet, but they also eat young rabbits, birds, frogs, lizards, crustaceans, earthworms, and beetles. Tawny Owls in urban environments prey on birds more frequently since they’re easier to come by than other animals.
Tawny Owls mate for life and have a unique courtship that involves “moving in” together! From July to October, the pair will roost separately during the day. As fall changes to winter, mates will spend more and more time roosting together near their nest site.
Like other owls in Sweden, Tawny Owls have a distinctive voice. The males use a hooting call to mark territory and announce themselves to females during mating. Males and females also use a piercing “coo-wik” cry to express aggression and a shorter contact call that sounds like “kewick.”
#4. Tengmalm’s Owl
- Aegolius funereus
Identifying Characteristics:
- Adults typically range from 22 to 27 centimeters long with a wingspan of 50 to 62 centimeters.
- The coloring ranges from reddish to gray-brown, and the pattern also varies from white spots to more well-defined bars.
- This species has bright yellow eyes and a circular face with a dark outline.
To find this species in Sweden, look for a very tiny owl.
Tengmalm’s Owls can be tricky to identify because they have a variety of colors (from reddish-brown to gray) and patterns. In addition, they can possess either dots or streaks, and sometimes both on the top or bottom of the body.
Tengmalm’s Owls live in boreal forests and can be seen in stands of aspen, poplar, spruce, fir, and birch trees. Because of their remote locations, these owls are relatively uncommon and hard to study and see, and not much is known about their population trends.
These owls like to perch low in coniferous forests and alpine areas and tilt their heads back and forth to scan for prey sounds with their extremely directional hearing. Once they have a target, they swoop in, and dinner is served. Since Tengmalm’s Owls are small, creatures such as voles, bats, frogs, beetles, birds, and baby squirrels are their primary foods.
Their call is a small series of whistled toots that get progressively louder. Males typically only hoot during the breeding season to attract a female.
#5. Eurasian Pygmy Owl
- Glaucidium passerinum
Identifying Characteristics:
- Adults are 17 to 19 centimeters tall, with a wingspan between 34 and 36 centimeters.
- The back is dusky chocolate to grayish-brown, with an off-white belly and brown mottling on the flanks.
- They have yellow eyes, a yellow beak, and white eyebrows. Black spots with a white ring on the back of the neck resemble false eyes.
This tiny species is the smallest owl in Sweden!
Eurasian Pygmy Owls are typically found in coniferous forests near wet or swampy terrain. They feed primarily on small birds and mammals but occasionally hunt Spotted Woodpeckers, which are nearly as large as the owl!
Instead of building their nests, Eurasian Pygmy Owls take over tree cavities left behind by woodpeckers. A mating pair of owls will clean out the nest together before the female lays her eggs. It sounds pretty similar to when humans “nest” before they have a baby!
Interestingly, the mother owl only feeds her young for about a week after her eggs hatch. Then, the male takes over and feeds them for about 4 to 6 weeks more weeks until they leave the nest for good. Eurasian Pygmy Owls generally live 6 to 7 years in the wild.
Since they’re so small, you’re more likely to hear these owls’ calls than to see them. They make a monotonous call that consists of a sequence of clear notes spaced at two-second intervals followed by 3 to 6 staccato notes. It’s thought to sound like “gewh, gewh, gewh, gih, gih, gih.” You’ll typically hear this around dawn and dusk.
#6. Ural Owl
- Strix uralensis
Identifying Characteristics:
- Adults range in length from 50 to 60 centimeters with a wingspan of 125 to 135 centimeters.
- Their coloring is pale grayish-brown to off-white with a slightly darker gray-brown back and contrasting white markings. Their tails are dark brown and wedge-shaped, and they have light and dark barred flight feathers.
- The prominent facial disk is uniform off-white to pale gray, with dark brown eyes, a yellow beak, and a white throat.
Ural Owls are primarily found in mature open forests with bogs and clearings. They’re adapted for a variety of elevations, from mountainous areas to wooded areas at sea level.
Ural Owls are shy and secretive and are considered rare in developed areas. However, in recent years some populations have become more adapted to human-altered environments.
This species is one of many owls in Sweden that mate for life. Ural Owls use various nest sites, including tree cavities and hollow trunks, holes, fissures in cliffs, and abandoned nests from other birds. They will even use artificial nest boxes, which is unusual for owls!
The easiest way to recognize Ural Owls in Sweden is by their call.
Their song is deep and rhythmic, thought to sound like “wuhu huwuho-huwuwo,” and is repeated every 10 to 15 seconds. Ural Owls also make various calls to communicate or signal danger, including low hoots and hoarse barks.
#7. Snowy Owl
- Bubo scandiacus
Identifying Characteristics:
- Adults typically range from 52 to 64 centimeters long with a wingspan of 1.2 to 1.5 meters.
- The coloring is bright white with black bars on its body, head, and wings.
- This species has yellow eyes and a black beak and talons.
Snowy Owls are one of the most stunning animals on the planet! Their white plumage stops almost everyone in their tracks, both birders and non-birders alike! Although mostly white, they have horizontal dark lines all over their bodies except the face and breast. Interestingly, individuals seem to get whiter with age.
Snowy Owls migrate with the changing seasons. During summer, they mate and breed on the northern tundra. But when winter arrives, these birds come south for warmer temperatures.
You never know how far south Snowy Owls will travel.
Most years, Snowy Owls only appear as far down as northern Sweden. But some years, there is an “irruption” of Snowy Owls, and many more birds than usual migrate south.
When defending their territory or searching for a mate, males make a loud “hoo, hoo.” This hoot is so loud it can be heard more than 11 kilometers away on the tundra! Females rarely hoot, but other noises (for both sexes) include cackles, shrieks, hissing, and bill snapping.
#8. Northern Hawk Owl
- Surnia ulula
Identifying Characteristics:
- Adults typically range from 36 to 45 centimeters long with a wingspan of 77 to 89 centimeters.
- The wings and back are dark brown with white bars, and the belly is white with dark bars.
- This species’ face is hawk-like, with a sloped forehead that ends in a point at its pale gray beak.
As the name suggests, Northern Hawk Owls tend to act more like hawks than owls! These owls sit solitary in tall trees and hunt during the day, which are rare traits in owls.
These owls are found in Sweden in northern boreal forests.
Northern Hawk Owls commonly feed on voles since they can be eaten whole and are generally plentiful. However, they also will eat baby hares, red squirrels, mice, rats, and lemmings. Smaller songbirds fit into their diet, too!
Males make a rolling, low “hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo” sound repeated 10 to 200 times. Females have similar calls, but it’s shorter and hoarser.
Do you need additional help identifying owls in Sweden?
Here are a few books and resources you can purchase that will assist! (Links below take you to Amazon)
Which of these owls have you seen in Sweden?
Leave a comment below!
