LC
Long-eared Owl Asio otus



Taxonomy

Taxonomic source(s)
AERC TAC. 2003. AERC TAC Checklist of bird taxa occurring in Western Palearctic region, 15th Draft. Available at: http://www.aerc.eu/DOCS/Bird_taxa_of_the_WP15.xls.
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

IUCN Red List criteria met and history
Red List criteria met
Critically Endangered Endangered Vulnerable
- - -

Red List history
Year Category Criteria
2021 Least Concern
2018 Least Concern
2016 Least Concern
2012 Least Concern
2009 Least Concern
2008 Least Concern
2004 Least Concern
2000 Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994 Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988 Lower Risk/Least Concern
Species attributes

Migratory status full migrant Forest dependency medium
Land-mass type Average mass -
Range

Estimate Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident) 80,000,000 km2 medium
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding) 99,200,000 km2 medium
Severely fragmented? no -
Population
Estimate Data quality Derivation Year of estimate
Population size 2200000-3700000 mature individuals poor suspected 2021
Population trend decreasing - suspected -
Generation length 5.7 years - - -

Population justification: Partners in Flight Science Committee (2020a) estimated the population in the USA and Canada to be c.150,000 individuals, and the global population to be c.520,000 individuals. The European population is estimated at 312,000-512,000 pairs, which equates to 624,000-1,030,000 mature individuals (BirdLife International In prep.). Europe forms approximately 28% of the global range, so the global population size is suspected to number 2,230,000-3,680,000 mature individuals, although further validation of this estimate is needed.

Trend justification: Trends in North America are not well known as local numbers rise and fall, but several studies suggest an overall decline, often attributed to loss of habitat (Marks et al. 2020). Analysis of results from the Christmas Bird Count suggest a decline of more than 50% since 1970 (Partners in Flight 2020b). In Europe the population size trend is unknown (BirdLife International In prep.).


Country/territory distribution
Country/Territory Presence Origin Resident Breeding visitor Non-breeding visitor Passage migrant
Afghanistan extant native yes yes yes
Albania extant native yes
Algeria extant native yes
Andorra extant native yes
Armenia extant native yes
Austria extant native yes
Azerbaijan extant native yes
Belarus extant native yes
Belgium extant native yes
Bermuda (to UK) extant vagrant
Bhutan extant vagrant yes
Bosnia and Herzegovina extant native yes
Bulgaria extant native yes
Canada extant native yes yes
China (mainland) extant native yes yes
Croatia extant native yes
Cuba extant vagrant
Cyprus extant native yes
Czechia extant native yes
Denmark extant native yes yes
Egypt extant native yes yes
Estonia extant native yes yes
Faroe Islands (to Denmark) extant native yes
Finland extant native yes yes
France extant native yes yes yes
Georgia extant native yes
Germany extant native yes
Gibraltar (to UK) extant vagrant
Greece extant native yes yes yes
Hong Kong (China) extant vagrant
Hungary extant native yes
Iceland extant native yes
India extant native yes
Iran, Islamic Republic of extant native yes yes
Iraq extant native yes
Ireland extant native yes yes
Israel extant native yes yes
Italy extant native yes
Japan extant native yes yes
Jordan extant native yes yes
Kazakhstan extant native yes
Kuwait extant vagrant yes
Kyrgyzstan extant native yes
Laos extant vagrant
Latvia extant native yes
Lebanon extant native yes yes
Liechtenstein extant native yes
Lithuania extant native yes
Luxembourg extant native yes
Malta extant vagrant
Mexico extant native yes yes
Moldova extant native yes
Mongolia extant native yes
Montenegro extant native yes
Morocco extant native yes
Myanmar extant vagrant
Nepal extant native yes
Netherlands extant native yes
North Korea extant native
North Macedonia extant native yes
Norway extant native yes yes
Oman extant vagrant yes yes
Pakistan extant native yes
Palestine extant native yes
Poland extant native yes
Portugal extant native yes
Qatar extant vagrant
Romania extant native yes
Russia extant native yes yes
Russia (Asian) extant native yes yes
Russia (Central Asian) extant native yes yes
Russia (European) extant native yes yes
Saudi Arabia extant vagrant yes
Serbia extant native yes
Slovakia extant native yes
Slovenia extant native yes
South Korea extant native yes
Spain extant native yes
St Pierre and Miquelon (to France) extant vagrant yes yes
Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands (to Norway) extant vagrant
Sweden extant native yes yes
Switzerland extant native yes
Syria extant native yes
Taiwan, China extant native yes
Tajikistan extant native yes
Tunisia extant native yes yes
Türkiye extant native yes yes
Turkmenistan extant native yes yes
Ukraine extant native yes
United Arab Emirates extant vagrant yes
United Kingdom extant native yes yes
USA extant native yes yes yes
Uzbekistan extant native yes

Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)
Country/Territory IBA Name

Habitats & altitude
Habitat (level 1) Habitat (level 2) Importance Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial Plantations suitable resident
Artificial/Terrestrial Subtropical/Tropical Heavily Degraded Former Forest suitable resident
Forest Boreal suitable resident
Forest Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland suitable breeding
Forest Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane marginal resident
Forest Temperate suitable resident
Grassland Temperate suitable resident
Shrubland Boreal suitable resident
Shrubland Mediterranean-type Shrubby Vegetation suitable resident
Shrubland Subtropical/Tropical Dry suitable resident
Shrubland Temperate suitable resident
Wetlands (inland) Bogs, Marshes, Swamps, Fens, Peatlands suitable non-breeding
Wetlands (inland) Permanent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha) suitable non-breeding
Wetlands (inland) Permanent Saline, Brackish or Alkaline Marshes/Pools suitable non-breeding
Wetlands (inland) Shrub Dominated Wetlands suitable non-breeding
Altitude 0 - 2750 m Occasional altitudinal limits  

Threats & impact
Threat (level 1) Threat (level 2) Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Agro-industry farming Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Majority (50-90%) Slow, Significant Declines Medium Impact: 6
Stresses
Indirect ecosystem effects, Ecosystem degradation
Biological resource use Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Unintentional effects (species is not the target) Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Minority (<50%) Negligible declines Low Impact: 4
Stresses
Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases Problematic native species/diseases - Strix aluco Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Minority (<50%) Slow, Significant Declines Low Impact: 5
Stresses
Competition
Pollution Agricultural & forestry effluents - Herbicides and pesticides Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Minority (<50%) Negligible declines Low Impact: 4
Stresses
Indirect ecosystem effects
Residential & commercial development Housing & urban areas Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Minority (<50%) Slow, Significant Declines Low Impact: 5
Stresses
Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Transportation & service corridors Roads & railroads Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Minority (<50%) Negligible declines Low Impact: 4
Stresses
Species mortality

Utilisation
Purpose Scale
Food - human subsistence, national
Pets/display animals, horticulture international
Sport hunting/specimen collecting subsistence, national

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Long-eared Owl Asio otus. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/long-eared-owl-asio-otus on 04/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 04/12/2024.