---
title: "Long-eared Owl"
description: "Asio otus — Uccelli. The long-eared owl (Asio otus), also known as the northern long-eared owl or informally as the lesser horned owl or cat owl, is a medium-sized typical owl with an extensive range."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/it/animal/long-eared-owl
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Long-eared Owl

> Asio otus — Uccelli. The long-eared owl (Asio otus), also known as the northern long-eared owl or informally as the lesser horned owl or cat owl, is a medium-sized typical owl with an extensive range.

- Scientific name: *Asio otus*
- Category: `birds` (Uccelli)
- Habitats: `forest` (Foresta)
- iNaturalist observations: 23949
- Wikidata: [Q25384](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q25384)
- iNaturalist taxon: [20307](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/20307)

## Names

- en: Long-eared Owl
- de: Waldohreule
- es: Búho Cara Canela
- fr: Hibou moyen-duc
- nl: Ransuil
- pt: Coruja-pequena
- pl: Uszatka zwyczajna

## Countries with the most observations

RU (5680), US (3287), DE (1828), CA (1354), IT (1039), FR (949), UA (807), AT (697), ES (605), CZ (475), NL (349), PL (339)

## Summary

The long-eared owl (Asio otus), also known as the northern long-eared owl or informally as the lesser horned owl or cat owl, is a medium-sized typical owl with an extensive range. The genus name, Asio, is Latin for "horned owl", and the specific epithet, otus, is derived from Greek and refers to a small eared owl. It breeds in Europe and the Palearctic, as well as in North America.
This owl prefers semi-open habitats, particularly woodland edge, as they to roost and nest within dense stands of wood but prefer to hunt over open ground. The long-eared owl primarily hunts small rodents, especially voles, but during population…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-eared_owl

## Photo

![Long-eared Owl](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/long-eared-owl/medium.jpg)

Photo: Charlie Farrell · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/37649589

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/long-eared-owl?lang=it` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).