Great grey owl
Strix nebulosa · Northern forests of Eurasia and North America
The great grey owl is the longest owl, with the largest facial disc of any raptor. source
Photo: Cephas · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Nineteen remarkable owls from around the world
The smallest, the heaviest, the lost-and-found, the fish-eaters and one we lost for good.
Owls live in every region on Earth except the polar ice caps and some remote islands. source Owls are an ancient lineage: Paleocene fossils show they were already distinct around 60–57 million years ago. source
The smallest owl is the elf owl: as little as 31 g and about 13.5 cm long. source The heaviest owls are the Eurasian eagle-owl and Blakiston’s fish owl. The largest females reach 71 cm long, a 190 cm wingspan and 4.2 kg. source The great grey owl is the longest owl, with the largest facial disc of any raptor. source
Elf owl
Micrathene whitneyi · South-western USA and Mexico
Elf owl: about the size of a sparrow, it often nests in old woodpecker holes in saguaro cacti and feeds mainly on insects. source
The smallest owl is the elf owl: as little as 31 g and about 13.5 cm long. source
Photo: Dominic Sherony · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Blakiston’s fish owl
Ketupa blakistoni · China, Japan and the Russian Far East
Blakiston’s fish owl lives along rivers in China, Japan and the Russian Far East, and is classed as Endangered by the IUCN because riverside forest is being lost. source
The heaviest owls are the Eurasian eagle-owl and Blakiston’s fish owl. The largest females reach 71 cm long, a 190 cm wingspan and 4.2 kg. source
Photo: Tokumi · Public domain · Commons
Burrowing owl
Athene cunicularia · Open grassland and desert in the Americas
The burrowing owl of the Americas lives in burrows, often ones dug by animals such as prairie dogs or ground squirrels. Its long legs let it sprint after prey, and it is often active by day. source
Grip strength varies hugely: a burrowing owl needs only 5 N to release its prey, a barn owl 30 N, and a great horned owl over 130 N. source
Photo: Wagner Machado Carlos Lemes from Goiânia, Brazil · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Great horned owl
Bubo virginianus · Across the Americas
The great horned owl is the most widely distributed true owl in the Americas and one of the few regular predators of skunks. source
Ear tufts are not ears. They are just feathers; the real ears are on the sides of the head. source
Photo: Paul Danese · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Spectacled owl
Pulsatrix perspicillata · Rainforest from southern Mexico to South America
The spectacled owl is a large tropical owl of old-growth rainforest from southern Mexico to South America. source
Photo: Hans Hillewaert · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Eurasian scops owl
Otus scops · Southern Europe to Asia; winters in Africa
The Eurasian scops owl is a small migratory owl that winters in Africa south of the Sahara. source
Photo: Carpodacus · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Barred owl
Strix varia · North America; spreading west
The barred owl has spread from eastern North America to the West Coast, where it is considered invasive. source
Photo: Cephas · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Forest owlet
Athene blewitti · Forests of central India
The forest owlet of central India was not seen after 1884 and was considered extinct, until Pamela Rasmussen rediscovered it in 1997. It is Endangered. source
Searches failed at first because the last specimen had been stolen from the British Museum by Richard Meinertzhagen and relabelled with a false locality. source
Photo: Saswat Mishra · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Philippine eagle-owl
Ketupa philippensis · Lowland forests of the Philippines
The Philippine eagle-owl is the largest owl in the Philippines, though small for its genus. source
Photo: Aimee Valencia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Powerful owl
Ninox strenua · Eastern and south-eastern Australia
The powerful owl is Australia’s largest owl, and unusually the male is larger and stronger than the female. source
Photo: Greg Tasney · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Pel’s fishing owl
Scotopelia peli · Rivers and lakes of sub-Saharan Africa
Pel’s fishing owl of Africa feeds at night on fish and frogs snatched from the surface of rivers and lakes. source
Photo: Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Scientific names follow current Wikipedia articles (some fish owls and eagle-owls were recently moved between genera). The laughing owl photo shows a museum specimen.