• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic note
Strix butleri was previously listed as S. omanensis in del Hoyo and Collar 2014 based on the description under this name by Robb et al. (2013). S hadorami (Kirwan, Schweizer & Copete, 2015) was previously listed as S. butleri in del Hoyo and Collar (2014) and before.

Recent genetic and morphological analyses have revealed that the type specimen of S. butleri - the geographical provenance of which is open to doubt - differs significantly from all other specimens previously ascribed to this species, indicating (despite the lack of vocal data definitively linked to the same population as the type) that two species are involved, principally because the degree of molecular differentiation is close to that in other taxa of Strix traditionally recognised as species, which led to populations of this species from S Oman to the Levant and E Egypt, which share the same morphology and vocalizations, being described as a separate species, Desert Tawny Owl S. hadorami. 

Taxonomic source(s)
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.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2021	Least Concern
2016	Data Deficient
2014	Data Deficient
2012	Not Recognised
2008	Not Recognised
2004	Not Recognised
2000	Not Recognised
1994	Not Recognised
1988	Not Recognised

Migratory status	unknown	Forest dependency	does not normally occur in forest
Land-mass type		Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	831,000 km2

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	unknown	-	-	-
Population trend	stable	-	inferred	-
Generation length	5.73 years	-	-	-

Population justification: The population size has not been quantified and further research is required.

Trend justification: In the absence of evidence for any threat, the population is inferred to be stable.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Iran, Islamic Republic of	extant	native	yes
Oman	extant	native	yes
Pakistan	presence uncertain	native	yes
United Arab Emirates	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
United Arab Emirates	Wadi Wurayah

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks)		major	resident
Shrubland	Mediterranean-type Shrubby Vegetation	major	resident
Altitude		Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Energy production & mining	Mining & quarrying	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Species disturbance, Ecosystem degradation
Transportation & service corridors	Roads & railroads	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Species disturbance, Ecosystem degradation

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Omani Owl Strix butleri. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/omani-owl-strix-butleri on 22/12/2024.
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 22/12/2024.