Ural Owl

Strix uralensis

The Ural owl is one of the larger members of the wood owl family. Found primarily in loose, mature, mixed forests from Scandinavia east to Japan, the Ural owl is named for the mountains that share much of its range. Like most wood owls, the Ural owl has a large, dome-shaped head which supports the large facial disks used for enhanced hearing ability. The diet of the Ural owl consists largely of small mammals such as mice and voles, but may also include birds and larger mammals up to the size of hares.

Throughout much of its range, the Ural owl is still common; however, in areas where hollow and broken trees are removed from the forest, population decreases have been reported due to the lack of suitable nesting habitat. In some of these areas, the addition of nest boxes has proven to be a successful conservation measure.

One of the ICBP’s newest flying owls is a female Ural owl that was hatched at the Center in 2006. She was hand reared by the Center’s education staff in order to facilitate her training for flying demonstrations and educational programs. Even in her early months, she visited school classrooms and enlightened hundreds of children and adults. As a full sized, flighted bird, she traveled with ICBP staff to New York City to participate in the Urban Parks Falconry Extravaganza 2006. Currently, she is enjoying her first “vacation” and has begun her first molt. Hopefully, she will be ready to fly again later this year!