The International Ornithological Committee (IOC) recognizes these 254 species of owl in order Strigiformes; they are distributed among 25 genera in two families. The 20 species of genera Tyto and Phodilus, the barn owls, are in family Tytonidae. The other 234 species are in family Strigidae, the "typical owls". Five species on the list are extinct; they are marked (X).[1] For a partial list with additional information, see the article "List of Strigiformes by population".
This list is presented according to the IOC taxonomic sequence and can also be sorted alphabetically by common name and binomial.
| Common name | Binomial name authority | IOC sequence |
|---|---|---|
| Greater sooty owl | Tyto tenebricosa (Gould, 1845) | 1 |
| Lesser sooty owl | Tyto multipunctata Mathews, 1912 | 2 |
| Minahasa masked owl | Tyto inexspectata (Schlegel, 1879) | 3 |
| Taliabu masked owl | Tyto nigrobrunnea Neumann, 1939 | 4 |
| Moluccan masked owl | Tyto sororcula (Sclater, PL, 1883) | 5 |
| Manus masked owl | Tyto manusi Rothschild & Hartert, EJO, 1914 | 6 |
| Golden masked owl | Tyto aurantia (Salvadori, 1881) | 7 |
| Australian masked owl | Tyto novaehollandiae (Stephens, 1826) | 8 |
| Sulawesi masked owl | Tyto rosenbergii (Schlegel, 1866) | 9 |
| Red owl | Tyto soumagnei (Grandidier, A, 1878) | 10 |
| Western barn owl | Tyto alba (Scopoli, 1769) | 11 |
| American barn owl | Tyto furcata (Temminck, 1827) | 12 |
| Eastern barn owl | Tyto javanica (Gmelin, JF, 1788) | 13 |
| Andaman masked owl | Tyto deroepstorffi (Hume, 1875) | 14 |
| Ashy-faced owl | Tyto glaucops (Kaup, 1852) | 15 |
| African grass owl | Tyto capensis (Smith, A, 1834) | 16 |
| Eastern grass owl | Tyto longimembris (Jerdon, 1839) | 17 |
| Itombwe owl | Tyto prigoginei (Schouteden, 1952) | 18 |
| Oriental bay owl | Phodilus badius (Horsfield, 1821) | 19 |
| Sri Lanka bay owl | Phodilus assimilis Hume, 1877 | 20 |
| Papuan hawk-owl | Uroglaux dimorpha (Salvadori, 1874) | 21 |
| Laughing owl (X) | Ninox albifacies (Gray, GR, 1844) | 22 |
| Rufous owl | Ninox rufa (Gould, 1846) | 23 |
| Powerful owl | Ninox strenua (Gould, 1838) | 24 |
| Barking owl | Ninox connivens (Latham, 1801) | 25 |
| Sumba boobook | Ninox rudolfi Meyer, AB, 1882 | 26 |
| Australian boobook | Ninox boobook (Latham, 1801) | 27 |
| Rote boobook | Ninox rotiensis Johnstone, RE & Darnell, 1997 | 28 |
| Timor boobook | Ninox fusca (Vieillot, 1817) | 29 |
| Alor boobook | Ninox plesseni Stresemann, 1929 | 30 |
| Tasmanian boobook | Ninox leucopsis (Gould, 1838) | 31 |
| Morepork | Ninox novaeseelandiae (Gmelin, JF, 1788) | 32 |
| Northern boobook | Ninox japonica (Temminck & Schlegel, 1845) | 33 |
| Brown boobook | Ninox scutulata (Raffles, 1822) | 34 |
| Hume's boobook | Ninox obscura Hume, 1872 | 35 |
| Chocolate boobook | Ninox randi Deignan, 1951 | 36 |
| Andaman boobook | Ninox affinis Beavan, 1867 | 37 |
| Luzon boobook | Ninox philippensis Bonaparte, 1855 | 38 |
| Mindanao boobook | Ninox spilocephala Tweeddale, 1879 | 39 |
| Camiguin boobook | Ninox leventisi Rasmussen, Allen, D, Collar, Hutchinson, Jakosalem, Kennedy, RS, Lambert & Paguntalan, 2012 | 40 |
| Sulu boobook | Ninox reyi Oustalet, 1880 | 41 |
| Cebu boobook | Ninox rumseyi Rasmussen, Allen, D, Collar, Hutchinson, Jakosalem, Kennedy, RS, Lambert & Paguntalan, 2012 | 42 |
| Romblon boobook | Ninox spilonotus Bourns & Worcester, 1894 | 43 |
| Mindoro boobook | Ninox mindorensis Ogilvie-Grant, 1896 | 44 |
| Least boobook | Ninox sumbaensis Olsen, Wink, Sauer-Gürth & Trost, 2002 | 45 |
| Togian boobook | Ninox burhani Indrawan & Somadikarta, 2004 | 46 |
| Ochre-bellied boobook | Ninox ochracea (Schlegel, 1866) | 47 |
| Cinnabar boobook | Ninox ios Rasmussen, 1999 | 48 |
| Halmahera boobook | Ninox hypogramma (Gray, GR, 1861) | 49 |
| Buru boobook | Ninox hantu (Wallace, 1863) | 50 |
| Seram boobook | Ninox squamipila (Bonaparte, 1850) | 51 |
| Tanimbar boobook | Ninox forbesi Sclater, PL, 1883 | 52 |
| Christmas boobook | Ninox natalis Lister, 1889 | 53 |
| Manus boobook | Ninox meeki Rothschild & Hartert, EJO, 1914 | 54 |
| Papuan boobook | Ninox theomacha (Bonaparte, 1855) | 55 |
| Speckled boobook | Ninox punctulata (Quoy & Gaimard, 1832) | 56 |
| New Britain boobook | Ninox odiosa Sclater, PL, 1877 | 57 |
| New Ireland boobook | Ninox variegata (Quoy & Gaimard, 1832) | 58 |
| Bare-legged owl | Margarobyas lawrencii (Sclater, PL & Salvin, 1868) | 59 |
| Collared owlet | Taenioptynx brodiei (Burton, E, 1836) | 60 |
| Sunda owlet | Taenioptynx sylvaticus (Bonaparte, 1850) | 61 |
| Elf owl | Micrathene whitneyi (Cooper, JG, 1861) | 62 |
| Long-whiskered owlet | Xenoglaux loweryi O'Neill & Graves, GR, 1977 | 63 |
| Boreal owl | Aegolius funereus (Linnaeus, 1758) | 64 |
| Northern saw-whet owl | Aegolius acadicus (Gmelin, JF, 1788) | 65 |
| Bermuda saw-whet owl (X) | Aegolius gradyi Olson, 2012 | 66 |
| Unspotted saw-whet owl | Aegolius ridgwayi (Alfaro, 1905) | 67 |
| Buff-fronted owl | Aegolius harrisii (Cassin, 1849) | 68 |
| Forest owlet | Athene blewitti (Hume, 1873) | 69 |
| White-browed owl | Athene superciliaris (Vieillot, 1817) | 70 |
| Burrowing owl | Athene cunicularia (Molina, 1782) | 71 |
| Little owl | Athene noctua (Scopoli, 1769) | 72 |
| Spotted owlet | Athene brama (Temminck, 1821) | 73 |
| West Solomons owl | Athene jacquinoti Bonaparte, 1850 | 74 |
| Guadalcanal owl | Athene granti (Sharpe, 1888) | 75 |
| Malaita owl | Athene malaitae (Mayr, 1931) | 76 |
| Makira owl | Athene roseoaxillaris (Hartert, EJO, 1929) | 77 |
| Northern hawk-owl | Surnia ulula (Linnaeus, 1758) | 78 |
| Eurasian pygmy owl | Glaucidium passerinum (Linnaeus, 1758) | 79 |
| Pearl-spotted owlet | Glaucidium perlatum (Vieillot, 1817) | 80 |
| Red-chested owlet | Glaucidium tephronotum Sharpe, 1875 | 81 |
| Sjöstedt's barred owlet | Glaucidium sjostedti Reichenow, 1893 | 82 |
| Asian barred owlet | Glaucidium cuculoides (Vigors, 1830) | 83 |
| Javan owlet | Glaucidium castanopterum (Horsfield, 1821) | 84 |
| Jungle owlet | Glaucidium radiatum (Tickell, 1833) | 85 |
| Chestnut-backed owlet | Glaucidium castanotum (Blyth, 1851) | 86 |
| African barred owlet | Glaucidium capense (Smith, A, 1834) | 87 |
| Albertine owlet | Glaucidium albertinum Prigogine, 1983 | 88 |
| Northern pygmy owl | Glaucidium californicum Sclater, PL, 1857 | 89 |
| Mountain pygmy owl | Glaucidium gnoma Wagler, 1832 | 90 |
| Baja pygmy owl | Glaucidium hoskinsii Brewster, 1888 | 91 |
| Guatemalan pygmy owl | Glaucidium cobanense Sharpe, 1875 | 92 |
| Costa Rican pygmy owl | Glaucidium costaricanum Kelso, L, 1937 | 93 |
| Cloud-forest pygmy owl | Glaucidium nubicola Robbins & Stiles, 1999 | 94 |
| Andean pygmy owl | Glaucidium jardinii (Bonaparte, 1855) | 95 |
| Yungas pygmy owl | Glaucidium bolivianum König, C, 1991 | 96 |
| Colima pygmy owl | Glaucidium palmarum Nelson, 1901 | 97 |
| Tamaulipas pygmy owl | Glaucidium sanchezi Lowery & Newman, RJ, 1949 | 98 |
| Central American pygmy owl | Glaucidium griseiceps Sharpe, 1875 | 99 |
| Subtropical pygmy owl | Glaucidium parkeri Robbins & Howell, SNG, 1995 | 100 |
| Amazonian pygmy owl | Glaucidium hardyi Vielliard, 1989 | 101 |
| East Brazilian pygmy owl | Glaucidium minutissimum (Wied-Neuwied, M, 1830) | 102 |
| Pernambuco pygmy owl | Glaucidium mooreorum Cardoso da Silva, Coelho & Gonzaga, 2003 | 103 |
| Ferruginous pygmy owl | Glaucidium brasilianum (Gmelin, JF, 1788) | 104 |
| Pacific pygmy owl | Glaucidium peruanum König, C, 1991 | 105 |
| Austral pygmy owl | Glaucidium nana (King, PP, 1827) | 106 |
| Cuban pygmy owl | Glaucidium siju (d'Orbigny, 1839) | 107 |
| Giant scops owl | Otus gurneyi (Tweeddale, 1879) | 108 |
| White-fronted scops owl | Otus sagittatus (Cassin, 1849) | 109 |
| Reddish scops owl | Otus rufescens (Horsfield, 1821) | 110 |
| Serendib scops owl | Otus thilohoffmanni Warakagoda & Rasmussen, 2004 | 111 |
| Sandy scops owl | Otus icterorhynchus (Shelley, 1873) | 112 |
| Sokoke scops owl | Otus ireneae Ripley, 1966 | 113 |
| Andaman scops owl | Otus balli (Hume, 1873) | 114 |
| Flores scops owl | Otus alfredi (Hartert, EJO, 1897) | 115 |
| Mountain scops owl | Otus spilocephalus (Blyth, 1846) | 116 |
| Javan scops owl | Otus angelinae (Finsch, 1912) | 117 |
| Mindanao scops owl | Otus mirus Ripley & Rabor, 1968 | 118 |
| Luzon scops owl | Otus longicornis (Ogilvie-Grant, 1894) | 119 |
| Mindoro scops owl | Otus mindorensis (Whitehead, J, 1899) | 120 |
| Torotoroka scops owl | Otus madagascariensis (Grandidier, A, 1867) | 121 |
| Rainforest scops owl | Otus rutilus (Pucheran, 1849) | 122 |
| Mayotte scops owl | Otus mayottensis Benson, 1960 | 123 |
| Karthala scops owl | Otus pauliani Benson, 1960 | 124 |
| Anjouan scops owl | Otus capnodes (Gurney, JH Sr, 1889) | 125 |
| Moheli scops owl | Otus moheliensis Lafontaine & Moulaert, 1998 | 126 |
| Reunion scops owl (X) | Otus grucheti (Mourer-Chauviré, Bour, Moutou & Ribes, 1994) | 127 |
| Mauritius scops owl (X) | Otus sauzieri (Newton, E & Gadow, 1893) | 128 |
| Rodrigues scops owl (X) | Otus murivorus (Milne-Edwards, 1873) | 129 |
| Pallid scops owl | Otus brucei (Hume, 1872) | 130 |
| Arabian scops owl | Otus pamelae Bates, GL, 1937 | 131 |
| Eurasian scops owl | Otus scops (Linnaeus, 1758) | 132 |
| Cyprus scops owl | Otus cyprius (Madarász, G, 1901) | 133 |
| Principe scops owl | Otus bikegila Melo, Freitas, Verbelen, da Costa, Pereira, Fuchs, Sangster, Correia, de Lima & Crottini, 2022 | 134 |
| Pemba scops owl | Otus pembaensis Pakenham, 1937 | 135 |
| Sao Tome scops owl | Otus hartlaubi (Giebel, 1872) | 126 |
| African scops owl | Otus senegalensis (Swainson, 1837) | 137 |
| Annobon scops owl | Otus feae (Salvadori, 1903) | 138 |
| Socotra scops owl | Otus socotranus (Ogilvie-Grant & Forbes, HO, 1899) | 139 |
| Oriental scops owl | Otus sunia (Hodgson, 1836) | 140 |
| Ryukyu scops owl | Otus elegans (Cassin, 1852) | 141 |
| Moluccan scops owl | Otus magicus (Müller, S, 1841) | 142 |
| Wetar scops owl | Otus tempestatis (Hartert, EJO, 1904) | 143 |
| Sula scops owl | Otus sulaensis (Hartert, EJO, 1898) | 144 |
| Biak scops owl | Otus beccarii (Salvadori, 1876) | 145 |
| Sulawesi scops owl | Otus manadensis (Quoy & Gaimard, 1832) | 146 |
| Banggai scops owl | Otus mendeni Neumann, 1939 | 147 |
| Siau scops owl | Otus siaoensis (Schlegel, 1873) | 148 |
| Sangihe scops owl | Otus collari Lambert & Rasmussen, 1998 | 149 |
| Mantanani scops owl | Otus mantananensis (Sharpe, 1892) | 150 |
| Seychelles scops owl | Otus insularis (Tristram, 1880) | 151 |
| Nicobar scops owl | Otus alius Rasmussen, 1998 | 152 |
| Simeulue scops owl | Otus umbra (Richmond, 1903) | 153 |
| Enggano scops owl | Otus enganensis Riley, 1927 | 154 |
| Mentawai scops owl | Otus mentawi Chasen & Kloss, 1926 | 155 |
| Rajah scops owl | Otus brookii (Sharpe, 1892) | 156 |
| Indian scops owl | Otus bakkamoena Pennant, 1769 | 157 |
| Collared scops owl | Otus lettia (Hodgson, 1836) | 158 |
| Japanese scops owl | Otus semitorques Temminck & Schlegel, 1845 | 159 |
| Sunda scops owl | Otus lempiji (Horsfield, 1821) | 160 |
| Philippine scops owl | Otus megalotis (Walden, 1875) | 161 |
| Negros scops owl | Otus nigrorum Rand, 1950 | 162 |
| Everett's scops owl | Otus everetti (Tweeddale, 1879) | 163 |
| Palawan scops owl | Otus fuliginosus (Sharpe, 1888) | 164 |
| Wallace's scops owl | Otus silvicola (Wallace, 1864) | 165 |
| Rinjani scops owl | Otus jolandae Sangster, King, BF, Verbelen & Trainor, 2013 | 166 |
| Palau scops owl | Otus podarginus (Hartlaub & Finsch, 1872) | 167 |
| Northern white-faced owl | Ptilopsis leucotis (Temminck, 1820) | 168 |
| Southern white-faced owl | Ptilopsis granti (Kollibay, 1910) | 169 |
| Jamaican owl | Asio grammicus (Gosse, 1847) | 170 |
| Striped owl | Asio clamator (Vieillot, 1808) | 171 |
| Long-eared owl | Asio otus (Linnaeus, 1758) | 172 |
| Abyssinian owl | Asio abyssinicus (Guérin-Méneville, 1843) | 173 |
| Madagascar owl | Asio madagascariensis (Smith, A, 1834) | 174 |
| Stygian owl | Asio stygius (Wagler, 1832) | 175 |
| Short-eared owl | Asio flammeus (Pontoppidan, 1763) | 176 |
| Marsh owl | Asio capensis (Smith, A, 1834) | 177 |
| Fearful owl | Asio solomonensis (Hartert, EJO, 1901) | 178 |
| Maned owl | Jubula lettii (Büttikofer, 1889) | 179 |
| Snowy owl | Bubo scandiacus (Linnaeus, 1758) | 180 |
| Great horned owl | Bubo virginianus (Gmelin, JF, 1788) | 181 |
| Lesser horned owl | Bubo magellanicus (Lesson, RP, 1828) | 182 |
| Eurasian eagle-owl | Bubo bubo (Linnaeus, 1758) | 183 |
| Indian eagle-owl | Bubo bengalensis (Franklin, 1831) | 143 |
| Pharaoh eagle-owl | Bubo ascalaphus Savigny, 1809 | 185 |
| Cape eagle-owl | Bubo capensis Smith, A, 1834 | 186 |
| Arabian eagle-owl | Bubo milesi Sharpe, 1886 | 187 |
| Greyish eagle-owl | Bubo cinerascens Guérin-Méneville, 1843 | 188 |
| Spotted eagle-owl | Bubo africanus (Temminck, 1821) | 189 |
| Fraser's eagle-owl | Ketupa poensis (Fraser, 1854) | 190 |
| Akun eagle-owl | Ketupa leucosticta (Hartlaub, 1855) | 191 |
| Verreaux's eagle-owl | Ketupa lactea (Temminck, 1820) | 192 |
| Shelley's eagle-owl | Ketupa shelleyi (Sharpe & Ussher, 1872) | 193 |
| Blakiston's fish owl | Ketupa blakistoni (Seebohm, 1884) | 194 |
| Brown fish owl | Ketupa zeylonensis (Gmelin, JF, 1788) | 195 |
| Tawny fish owl | Ketupa flavipes (Hodgson, 1836) | 196 |
| Buffy fish owl | Ketupa ketupu (Horsfield, 1821) | 197 |
| Barred eagle-owl | Ketupa sumatrana (Raffles, 1822) | 198 |
| Spot-bellied eagle-owl | Ketupa nipalensis (Hodgson, 1836) | 199 |
| Dusky eagle-owl | Ketupa coromanda (Latham, 1790) | 200 |
| Philippine eagle-owl | Ketupa philippensis (Kaup, 1851) | 201 |
| Pel's fishing owl | Scotopelia peli Bonaparte, 1850 | 202 |
| Rufous fishing owl | Scotopelia ussheri Sharpe, 1871 | 203 |
| Vermiculated fishing owl | Scotopelia bouvieri Sharpe, 1875 | 204 |
| Flammulated owl | Psiloscops flammeolus (Kaup, 1852) | 205 |
| Puerto Rican owl | Gymnasio nudipes (Daudin, 1800) | 206 |
| Whiskered screech owl | Megascops trichopsis (Wagler, 1832) | 207 |
| Bare-shanked screech owl | Megascops clarkii (Kelso, L & Kelso, EH, 1935) | 208 |
| White-throated screech owl | Megascops albogularis (Cassin, 1849) | 209 |
| Tropical screech owl | Megascops choliba (Vieillot, 1817) | 210 |
| Bearded screech owl | Megascops barbarus (Sclater, PL & Salvin, 1868) | 211 |
| Pacific screech owl | Megascops cooperi (Ridgway, 1878) | 212 |
| Western screech owl | Megascops kennicottii (Elliot, DG, 1867) | 213 |
| Eastern screech owl | Megascops asio (Linnaeus, 1758) | 214 |
| Balsas screech owl | Megascops seductus (Moore, RT, 1941) | 215 |
| Middle American screech owl | Megascops guatemalae (Sharpe, 1875) | 216 |
| Koepcke's screech owl | Megascops koepckeae (Hekstra, 1982) | 217 |
| Rufescent screech owl | Megascops ingens (Salvin, 1897) | 218 |
| Cinnamon screech owl | Megascops petersoni (Fitzpatrick & O'Neill, 1986) | 219 |
| Cloud-forest screech owl | Megascops marshalli (Weske & Terborgh, 1981) | 220 |
| Yungas screech owl | Megascops hoyi (König, C & Straneck, 1989) | 221 |
| Choco screech owl | Megascops centralis (Hekstra, 1982) | 222 |
| Foothill screech owl | Megascops roraimae (Salvin, 1897) | 223 |
| Long-tufted screech owl | Megascops sanctaecatarinae (Salvin, 1897) | 224 |
| Santa Marta screech owl | Megascops gilesi Krabbe, 2017 | 225 |
| West Peruvian screech owl | Megascops roboratus (Bangs & Noble, 1918) | 226 |
| Tawny-bellied screech owl | Megascops watsonii (Cassin, 1849) | 227 |
| Black-capped screech owl | Megascops atricapilla (Temminck, 1822) | 228 |
| Spectacled owl | Pulsatrix perspicillata (Latham, 1790) | 229 |
| Tawny-browed owl | Pulsatrix koeniswaldiana (Bertoni, MS & Bertoni, AW, 1901) | 230 |
| Band-bellied owl | Pulsatrix melanota (Tschudi, 1844) | 231 |
| Crested owl | Lophostrix cristata (Daudin, 1800) | 232 |
| Spotted wood owl | Strix seloputo Horsfield, 1821 | 233 |
| Mottled wood owl | Strix ocellata (Lesson, RP, 1839) | 234 |
| Brown wood owl | Strix leptogrammica Temminck, 1832 | 235 |
| Tawny owl | Strix aluco Linnaeus, 1758 | 236 |
| Maghreb owl | Strix mauritanica (Witherby, 1905) | 237 |
| Himalayan owl | Strix nivicolum (Blyth, 1845) | 238 |
| Desert owl | Strix hadorami Kirwan, Schweizer & Copete, 2015 | 239 |
| Omani owl | Strix butleri (Hume, 1878) | 240 |
| Spotted owl | Strix occidentalis (Xántus, J, 1860) | 241 |
| Barred owl | Strix varia Barton, 1799 | 242 |
| Cinereous owl | Strix sartorii (Ridgway, 1874) | 243 |
| Fulvous owl | Strix fulvescens (Sclater, PL & Salvin, 1868) | 244 |
| Rusty-barred owl | Strix hylophila Temminck, 1825 | 245 |
| Chaco owl | Strix chacoensis Cherrie & Reichenberger, 1921 | 246 |
| Rufous-legged owl | Strix rufipes King, PP, 1827 | 247 |
| Ural owl | Strix uralensis Pallas, 1771 | 248 |
| Great grey owl | Strix nebulosa Forster, JR, 1772 | 249 |
| African wood owl | Strix woodfordii (Smith, A, 1834) | 250 |
| Mottled owl | Strix virgata (Cassin, 1849) | 251 |
| Black-and-white owl | Strix nigrolineata (Sclater, PL, 1859) | 252 |
| Black-banded owl | Strix huhula Daudin, 1800 | 253 |
| Rufous-banded owl | Strix albitarsis (Bonaparte, 1850) | 254 |