Listen to the Boreal owl
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
About the Boreal owl
The Boreal owl is a bird in the family Strigidae (order Strigiformes). Its conservation status on the IUCN Red List is “least concern”. Adults have a wingspan of about 56 cm.
What does the Boreal owl sound like?
Bird vocalisations are usually divided into songs – longer, often complex phrases used to defend territory and attract mates, sung mostly by males in the breeding season – and calls: short, simple sounds for contact, alarm, begging or flight.
The recordings here are labelled as song and call. Listen for differences in rhythm, pitch and repetition – the spectrum display makes it easy to see whether a sound is a pure whistle (a thin line), a harsh call (a broad band) or a trill (rapid repeated marks).
From Wikipedia
The boreal owl or Tengmalm's owl (Aegolius funereus) is a small owl in the "true owl" family Strigidae. It is known as the boreal owl or, more rarely, Richardson's owl after Sir John Richardson, in North America, and as Tengmalm's owl in Europe and Asia, after the Swedish naturalist Peter Gustaf Tengmalm.
Due to its nocturnal habits and preferred inaccessible taiga forest habitat, it is rarely seen by humans; when met with, it is often extremely confiding, showing little or no fear of people, only flying off if approached to within 3–5 metres.
More from the family Strigidae
Eurasian eagle-owl
Bubo bubo
Little owl
Athene noctua
Long-eared owl
Asio otus
Tawny owl
Strix aluco
Eurasian scops owl
Otus scops
Ural owl
Strix uralensis
Great horned owl
Bubo virginianus
Spotted owlet
Athene brama
Elf owl
Micrathene whitneyi
Barred owl
Strix varia
Brown boobook
Ninox scutulata
Oriental scops owl
Otus sunia
Frequently asked questions
What does a Boreal owl sound like?
You can hear 5 recordings of the Boreal owl on this page, including its song and call. Bird vocalisations are usually divided into songs – longer, often complex phrases used to defend territory and attract mates, sung mostly by males in the breeding season – and calls: short, simple sounds for contact, alarm, begging or flight.
Is the Boreal owl endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Boreal owl as “least concern”.
What family does the Boreal owl belong to?
The Boreal owl (Aegolius funereus) belongs to the family Strigidae in the order Strigiformes.
Sources & credits
- Song · Volovec Tichovodská dolina, Slovakia by Alexander Kurthy – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Song · Kojšovská hoľa, Erika, Slovakia by Alexander Kurthy – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Song · Zöllmersdorf (Luckau), Dahme-Spreewald (near Luckau)… by Klaus-Jürgen Papke – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Call · Pod grúne - Volovec, Slovakia by Alexander Kurthy – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Call · Pod grúne - Volovec, Slovakia by Alexander Kurthy – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q174466 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Boreal owl – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo by Christoph Moning – CC BY 4.0