An owl with conspicuous long head tufts, using woods and dense cover near grassland.
The long head tufts are feathers rather than ears. Its brownish-grey plumage has dark vertical streaks.
Long-eared owls leaving a daytime roost in Sombor, northwestern Serbia, followed tree-lined avenues towards the outskirts, flying above the canopy. Fewer were observed in densely built areas and less green outskirts.
Autumn and winter work in 2015–2019 ringed 101 owls. Seven were recaptured: six along their original corridor. Three recaptures were within the same winter and four in the next. During snowy March 2018, owls were also seen hunting Fieldfares roosting in avenue trees. Urban greenery thus served as routes for evening movements as well as surroundings for daytime roosts.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
MassWildlife’s 2025 account identifies disturbance at nests or roosts, loss or degradation of open habitat, and rodenticide exposure as potential regional threats. Recommended actions protect nesting and roosting sites from disturbance and reduce rodenticide use where the owls occur. Artificial nest baskets are also suggested at known nesting or roosting sites.