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  In flight

Owls

Tawny Fish Owl

Ketupa flavipes

• rare
• 35 km/h
• Least Concern

Hunts mountain torrents in the Himalayas, snatching fish from fast water. The high-altitude fish owl.

Habitat

Old-growth broadleaf/subtropical-to-temperate forest along fast-flowing rivers, streams, and lakes, from lowlands (as low as ~50 m) up to roughly 2,400-2,450 m elevation

Fun fact

Unlike most owls, the Tawny Fish-Owl's flight feathers lack the comb-like and hair-like fringing typical of the group, so its wingbeats are audible in flight — a trade-off linked to its fish-catching lifestyle, where silent flight matters less than it does for owls that hunt mammals by ear.

Range

South and Southeast Asia (Oriental Region), from southern Nepal and northern India (Kashmir/Garhwal east) through Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, southern/eastern China (incl. Zhejiang, Anhui, and Taiwan) to Laos and Vietnam

Diet

Mainly fish, plus crabs, shrimp, frogs, toads, and occasionally reptiles (lizards, snakes), small mammals (rodents, bamboo rats, small porcupines), and birds (e.g. Mandarin ducks, junglefowl, pheasants)

Size

0.55 m