Bubo bengalensis
Silhouette: Steven Traver · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The Indian eagle-owl (Bubo bengalensis), or the Bengal eagle-owl or rock eagle-owl, is a large horned owl species native to hilly and rocky scrub forests in the Indian subcontinent. It is splashed with brown and grey, and has a white throat patch with black small stripes. It was earlier treated as a subspecies of the Eurasian eagle-owl. It is usually seen in pairs. It has a deep resonant booming call that may be heard at dawn and dusk.
Bubo bengalensis was the scientific name used by James Franklin in 1831 for an eagle-owl, that was collected in northern India. This species is often considered a subspecies of the Eurasian eagle-owl Bubo bubo and is very similar in appearance. The facial disk is unmarked and has a black border, a feature that is much weaker in the Eurasian form. The base of the primaries is unbanded and rufous. The tail bands have the tawny bands wider than the black ones. Additionally, a large pale scapular patch is visible on the folded wing. The inner claws are the longest. The last joint of the toes are unfeathered.
The taxonomy of the group is complex due to a large amount of variation. Dementiev was the first to consider the possibility... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal Bardia National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kathmandu | 🇳🇵 Nepal |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nehru Zoological Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Sakkarbaug Zoological Garden | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Parco Natura Viva | 🇮🇹 Italy | |
| 5 | Diergaarde Blijdorp | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 6 | Kamla Nehru Prani Sangrahalay | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Bandung Zoo | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 8 | Seville Zoo | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 9 | Marcelle Natureza | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 10 | Kathmandu Zoo | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 11 | World of Birds Wildlife Sanctuary and Monkey Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 12 | Parc Animalier de Serre-Ponçon | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 13 | The Eagles of Aure | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 14 | Oceanium | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 15 | Bristol Aquarium | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 16 | Centro Volo Rapaci | 🇮🇹 Italy | |
| 17 | Rohtak Zoo | 🇮🇳 India |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Rock Eagle-Owl sighting in Royal Bardia National Park on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 210th most-seen of the 233 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April and July
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Rock Eagle-Owl in Royal Bardia National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May–June and September–March, the lowest months. Those are among Royal Bardia National Park's wettest months, with about 310 mm of rain a month against almost none in November. August has too few records to rate.
Only Royal Bardia National Park, in our data
Royal Bardia National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Rock Eagle-Owl sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Rock Eagle-Owl is recorded against all the birds logged in Royal Bardia National Park (8 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
