Brown Fish-Owl
Brown Fish-OwlBrown Fish-OwlBrown Fish-Owl

Brown Fish-Owl

Ketupa zeylonensis

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered
<5% · Rare
overall probability at Sinharaja Forest Reserve
31 Verified records at Sinharaja Forest Reserve
August Best month highest sighting rate
🌅 Crepuscular When it's active at dawn and dusk

The brown fish owl (Ketupa zeylonensis) is a fish owl species in the family known as typical owls, Strigidae. It is native from Turkey to South and Southeast Asia. Due its wide distribution it is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. It inhabits forests and wooded wetlands. Of the four living species of fish owl, it is the most widely distributed, most common and best-studied. It occupies a range of over 7,000 km (4,300 mi). Wikipedia →

<5% of wildlife watchers report a Brown Fish-Owl sighting in Sinharaja Forest Reserve, based on 31 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.

Closest Relatives at Sinharaja Forest Reserve

Spot-bellied Eagle-Owl

Spot-bellied Eagle-Owl

🌅 Crepuscular Bird

Ketupa nipalensis

<5% · Rare
Chestnut-backed Owlet
NT

Chestnut-backed Owlet

🌅 Crepuscular Bird

Glaucidium castanotum

20–30% · Possible
Serendib Scops Owl
EN

Serendib Scops Owl

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Otus thilohoffmanni

20–30% · Possible
Brown Boobook
LC

Brown Boobook

🌅 Crepuscular Bird

Ninox scutulata

<5% · Rare
Indian Scops-Owl
LC

Indian Scops-Owl

🌅 Crepuscular Bird

Otus bakkamoena

<5% · Rare
Brown Wood Owl
LC

Brown Wood Owl

☀️🌙 Day & Night Bird

Strix leptogrammica

Insufficient data
Jungle Owlet
LC

Jungle Owlet

🌅 Crepuscular Bird

Glaucidium radiatum

Insufficient data
Oriental Scops Owl
LC

Oriental Scops Owl

☀️🌙 Day & Night Bird

Otus sunia

Insufficient data
Sri Lanka Bay-Owl
LC

Sri Lanka Bay-Owl

Bird

Phodilus assimilis

5–10% · With luck

📅 Monthly Probability

<5
Jan
<5
Feb
<5
Mar
5–10
Apr
<5
May
<5
Jun
<5
Jul
5–10
Aug
<5
Sep
<5
Oct
<5
Nov
<5
Dec

🌅 When They're Spotted

Most active at dawn and dusk · across all parks (global)

🌅Crepuscular
☀️🌙🌙12am6am12pm6pm12am

Global Distribution

Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.

where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is)  ·  parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Probability
1 Wilpattu National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
30–40%
2 Ranthambore National Park 🇮🇳 India
20–30%
3 Bandhavgarh National Park 🇮🇳 India
10–20%
4 Mudumalai National Park 🇮🇳 India
10–20%
5 Yala National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
10–20%
6 Royal Bardia National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
10–20%
7 Jim Corbett National Park 🇮🇳 India
5–10%
8 Nagarhole National Park 🇮🇳 India
5–10%
9 Kanha National Park 🇮🇳 India
5–10%
10 Periyar National Park 🇮🇳 India
5–10%
11 Bandipur National Park 🇮🇳 India
5–10%
12 Kaziranga National Park 🇮🇳 India
5–10%
13 Minneriya National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
<5%
14 Chitwan National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
<5%
15 Satpura National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
16 Sinharaja Forest Reserve 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
<5%
17 Eravikulam National Park 🇮🇳 India
Insufficient data
18 Horton Plains National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
Insufficient data
19 Cat Tien National Park 🇻🇳 Vietnam
Insufficient data
20 Khao Yai National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
Insufficient data
21 Keoladeo National Park 🇮🇳 India
Insufficient data
22 Sundarbans National Park 🇮🇳 India
Insufficient data
23 Royal Manas National Park 🇧🇹 Bhutan
Insufficient data

Quick answers

What are the chances of seeing a Brown Fish-Owl in Sinharaja Forest Reserve?

About 2% of wildlife watchers report a Brown Fish-Owl sighting in Sinharaja Forest Reserve, based on 31 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.

When is the best time to see Brown Fish-Owl in Sinharaja Forest Reserve?

August has the highest sighting rate for Brown Fish-Owl in Sinharaja Forest Reserve in our monthly data.

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