Brown Boobook

Brown Boobook

Ninox scutulata

Silhouette: Rachel T Mason · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte]

In 3 days ~10%

279 Verified sightings at Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte]
3,246 In all 25 parks From 2019 to 2026
March Best month
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted

About the Brown Boobook

The brown boobook (Ninox scutulata), also known as the brown hawk-owl, is a typical owl species. It has dark brown upperparts, whitish underparts with reddish-brown streaking, and a barred tail. It is a resident breeder in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, southern China and western Indonesia.

The brown boobook was formally described in 1822 by Stamford Raffles from a specimen collected in Sumatra under the binomial name Strix scutulata. The specific epithet is from Latin scutulatus meaning "diamond-shaped". The brown boobook is now placed with the other boobooks in the genus Ninox that was introduced by Brian Houghton Hodgson in 1837.

Nine subspecies are recognised: N. s. burmanica Hume, 1876in northeast India to south China, Indochina and Thailand Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song1:04

Malaysia · 2026

© Ding Li Yong · XC1077757 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Call0:20

China · 2024

© Dave GUO · XC973784 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Duet0:43

Malaysia · 2024

© Lim Ying Hien · XC950688 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Way Kambas National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~30%
2 Periyar National Park 🇮🇳 India
~20%
3 Cat Tien National Park 🇻🇳 Vietnam
~10%
4 Kaeng Krachan National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~10%
5 Kanha National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
6 Khao Yai National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~10%
7 Manas National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
8 Namdapha National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
9 Chitwan National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
~10%
10 Taman Negara National Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%
11 Sepilok 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%
12 Cuc Phuong National Park 🇻🇳 Vietnam
<5%
13 Jim Corbett National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
14 Royal Manas National Park 🇧🇹 Bhutan
<5%
15 Sinharaja Forest Reserve 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
<5%
16 Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%
17 Royal Bardia National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
<5%
18 Doi Inthanon National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
<5%
19 Kaziranga National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
20 Wilpattu National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
<5%
21 Danum Valley Conservation Area 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%
22 Nagarhole National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
23 Khao Luang National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
<5%
24 Keoladeo National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
25 Bandipur National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kollam 🇮🇳 India
~10%
2 Savar 🇧🇩 Bangladesh
~10%
3 Bangkok 🇹🇭 Thailand
<5%
4 Thiruvananthapuram 🇮🇳 India
<5%
5 Dehradun 🇮🇳 India
<5%
6 Dhaka 🇧🇩 Bangladesh
<5%
7 Jaipur 🇮🇳 India
<5%
8 Jabalpur 🇮🇳 India
<5%
9 Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
<5%
10 Thrissur 🇮🇳 India
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Brown Boobook in Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte]?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Brown Boobook sighting in Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] on a given day, based on 279 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 105th most-seen of the 204 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Brown Boobook in Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte]?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Brown Boobook in Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see a Brown Boobook?

Between 3 and 6 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Brown Boobook sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.

Is Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] the best place to see a Brown Boobook?

9th of 21

Of the 21 cities where we can rate Brown Boobook sightings, Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] ranks 9th at under 5%. The best odds are in Kollam (India, about 10%), Savar (Bangladesh, about 10%) and Bangkok (Thailand, under 5%).

Where does the Brown Boobook sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Brown Boobook is recorded against all the birds logged in Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] (279 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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