Typical owls | Strigidae

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The facial disc is round and the eyes are large, with an iris ranging from yellow to almost black; many species carry two erectile feather tufts on the head, which have nothing to do with hearing but do break up the head's outline. The inner toe is shorter than the middle toe and the middle claw is smooth; within this one family size runs from a bird of sixty grams to one of three kilos, with densely feathered toes in the northern species and bare or bristled toes in the southern ones. The voice consists of low, far-carrying notes or clear whistles that hold the territory outside the breeding season as well — usually the first thing by which the species is known. Nesting is in a tree hole, an old crow or raptor nest, on a cliff ledge or simply on the ground; the female incubates and broods, the male brings in all the food.