Listing of Owls Found in Sri Lanka

Below is a listing of birds (no photos) found in Sri Lanka (Ceylon) – native, introduced or vagrant:

Barn Owl (Tyto alba stertens / javanica)

Brown Hawk Owl (Ninox scutulata) – Range: South Asia from India and Sri Lanka east to western Indonesia and south China

Brown Wood Owl (Strix leptogrammica) – Range: South Asia from India and Sri Lanka east to western Indonesia and south China

Chestnut-backed Owlet (Glaucidium castanonotum) – Range: Sri Lanka

Collared Scops Owl (Otus bakkamoena) – Range: South Asia from eastern Arabia through India, except the far north, and Sri Lanka east to Indonesia

Indian Scops Owl (Otus lettia) – Range: South Asia from northern Pakistan, northern India and the Himalayas east to south China. It is partially migratory, with some birds wintering in India, Sri Lanka and Malaysia

Serendib Scops Owl (Otus thilohoffmanni) – the most recently discovered bird in Sri Lanka since 1868, formally described as a species new to science in 2004. It is also the 24th (according to some authorities the 27th) endemic bird species for Sri Lanka

Spot-bellied Eagle Owl, also known as the Forest Eagle Owl or Ulama / Devil Bird (Bubo nipalensis) – Range: Southern and south-eastern Asia

Grey Morph of Indian Scops-owl
Serendib Scop Owl
Spot-bellied Eagle Owl

More Owl Information

Photo of author

Gordon Ramel

Gordon is an ecologist with two degrees from Exeter University. He's also a teacher, a poet and the owner of 1,152 books. Oh - and he wrote this website.

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