Berts picture

[Steve]

BERTS PICTURE

[mymantra]

At last ! I vote for uralensis, based on the heavily barred breast, the fine fringing around the facial disk and the lined appearance of the facial disk itself, but hey, I'm certainly no expert.

[Harry Hussey]

Hi all,
Have never seen a Strix sp(we don't have Tawny Owl over here!),but looks distinctly more like a Ural Owl to me.
Harry

[Paul 42]

I’m no expert either but I’ve checked my guides and Googled, The pics I’ve found of Uralensis show a very yellow beak, and the stripe between the eyes as a fine line rather than the broad band of aluco. It’s a shame we can’t see the tail as it is a major distinguishing feature. Of course if we knew where the pic was taken we’d have a better idea, and size alone would help ID in the field (uralensis nearly twice the size of Tawny). In other words I don’t know, but would favour aluco. No real Owl experts out there?

[Beverlybaynes]

I certainly have no idea, but I DO know that it's a perfectly gorgeous bird!

[bcurrie]

Steve, and you said you are not much of a photographer. I have no idea either, but appreciate the photo.

[david kelly]

I have no experience of Ural Owl but going by the white crown stripes I would go for Tawny Owl (S. aluco)

David