This owl occurs in forests on Buru. The account records it in lowland and hill forest, resting in the canopy by day and searching for food in middle and lower forest layers at night.
The account gives a length of 25–36 cm. The head and back are reddish brown, with white spots or streaks on the back and wings; the flight feathers and tail are barred. The underparts are pale with a rusty tone.
It hunts insects in the middle and lower forest layers and roosts by day in dense canopy foliage. It is recorded alone or in pairs.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.