Aegolius funereus
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The boreal owl or Tengmalm's owl (Aegolius funereus) is a small owl in the "true owl" family Strigidae. It is known as the boreal owl or, more rarely, Richardson's owl after Sir John Richardson, in North America, and as Tengmalm's owl in Europe and Asia, after the Swedish naturalist Peter Gustaf Tengmalm.
Due to its nocturnal habits and preferred inaccessible taiga forest habitat, it is rarely seen by humans; when met with, it is often extremely confident, showing little or no fear of people, only flying off if approached to within 3–5 metres.
The boreal owl was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. Linnaeus placed it with all the other owls in the genus Strix and coined the binomial name Strix funerea.
Currently, seven subspecies are accepted, though there is no genetic basis for more than two subspecies, one (A. f. funereus, Tengmalm's owl) in the Old World, and one... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Triglav National Park | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | |
| 2 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Rocky Mountain National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Yellowstone National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Novosibirsk | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 2 | Moscow | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 3 | Helsinki | 🇫🇮 Finland | |
| 4 | Calgary | 🇨🇦 Canada |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lusen National Park Centre | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 2 | Карельский зоопарк | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 3 | Birds of prey | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | Asahiyama Zoo | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 5 | Tierpark Hexentanzplatz | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 6 | Zoologischer Garten Halle | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 7 | Zoopark Limpopo | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 8 | Small Breeds Farm Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 9 | Chouette à voir! | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 10 | Karelian Zoo | 🇷🇺 Russia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Boreal Owl sighting in Novosibirsk on a given day, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 81st most-seen of the 123 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Boreal Owl in Novosibirsk on a given day, against under 5% in May–August and November–December, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Boreal Owl sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
Yes
Of the 4 cities where we can rate Boreal Owl sightings, Novosibirsk has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Moscow (Russia, under 5%) and Helsinki (Finland, under 5%).
Same family: Strigidae
The closest relatives of the Boreal Owl that you can see in Novosibirsk (family Strigidae, Typical Owls) are Ural Owl (about 20%), Eurasian Pygmy-Owl (about 10%) and Long-eared Owl (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Boreal Owl is recorded against all the birds logged in Novosibirsk (12 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.
