Adult - A Kings View Guest House, Eshowe. All images copyright Simply Birding Africa.
African Wood Owl
Strix woodfordii- Habitat: Forest, mature woodland and exotic plantations.
- Diet: Mainly insects, small birds and a few frogs caught by dropping onto them but may also catch bats and insects in the air.
- Status: Common resident in suitable habitats
- Calls: A beautiful haunting duet of stucatto "Who-who-who"and a longer "ooowooooooo" given in reply.
- Similar looking: None. Most owls are fairly distinctive and easy to identify.
- Similar sounding: None. An easily recogniseable hooting call.
ID pitfalls
None. African Wood Owl poses very little ID challenges.
Where to find one
Just listen out for their calls at night in suitable habitat and then proceed slowly toward the call. A powerful flashlilght is often more than enough to get excellent views.