Strix
Appearance
Strix owls Temporal range: Early Miocene to present
| |
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Great grey owl, Strix nebulosa | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Strigiformes |
Family: | Strigidae |
Genus: | Strix Linnaeus 1758 |
Type species | |
Strix aluco |
Strix is a genus of owls in the typical owl family (Strigidae).
This is one of the two living families of owls, the other being the barn owls (Tytonidae). Common names for Stryx are earless owls, though they are not the only owls without ear tufts. "Wood owl" is also used as a more generic name for forest-dwelling owls. Neotropical birds in the genus Ciccaba are sometimes included in Strix.
These are medium-sized to large, robustly built, powerful owls. They do not have ear tufts and most are nocturnal woodland birds. They eat small mammals, birds, and reptiles.