Other Names (World)
Brown Wood-Owl, Himalayan Brown Owl (newarensis group), Himalayan Brown Wood-owl (newarensis group), Bartels's Wood-owl (bartelsi), Malaysian Wood-owl (maingayi), Brown Wood Owl
Voice
Eerie screams, a short series of abrupt barking hoots, similar to that of Ural Owl (Strix uralensis), but more explosive at close range. Also a deep 'goke-goke-goke-ga-looo'.
Brown Wood Owl (Strix leptogrammica) [XC303757]
by Mandar Bhagat from Khlong Suan, Khlong Saeng Wildlife Sanctuary, Suratthani Province, Thailand (song)
Brown Wood Owl (Strix leptogrammica) [XC196966]
by Andrew Mascarenhas from Sancordem VP (near Aglote), South Goa, Goa, India (call)
Subspecies
Sri Lankan ochrogenys sometimes considered synonymous with indranee; chaseni possibly synonymous with nominate; myrtha and nyctiphasma doubtfully distinct from maingayi.
Additional subspecies described are connectens (single specimen from central India), included in indranee, and orientalis and shahensis, both treated as synonyms of ticehursti.
The following 14 subspecies are recognised:
newarensis (Hodgson, 1836) - Himalayas, from Jammu and Kashmir east to north-eastern India. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Himalayan Wood-Owl (Strix newarensis).
ticehursti Delacour, 1930 - Northern and central Myanmar east to south-eastern China (north-east to Anhui), south to northern and western Thailand, northern Laos and northern Vietnam.
caligata (Swinhoe, 1863) - Hainan and Taiwan.
laotiana Delacour, 1926 - Southern Laos and central Vietnam (Annam).