The Rufous Owl is a large owl with reddish-brown plumage and pale bars. It rests in leafy cover by day and is active at night.
Adults have dark rufous-brown upperparts with fine pale bars. The underparts are barred in rufous, cinnamon, and buff tones; the tail is wedge-shaped and the eyes are yellow.
It inhabits rainforest, monsoon forest, wooded wet ravines, and swamp forest. By day it rests alone or in pairs in dense foliage of tall trees, often calling around dusk.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.