Overall, it has rich brown plumage with paler underparts, but it varies considerably across its range.

[4] The typical song, like that of the tawny owl is a duet between the male and the female, the male makes a series of rapid, clear hoots, and the female answers with higher pitched, more leisurely hoots.

[3] There are currently four recognised subspecies and they are named and distributed as follows:[5] It lives mainly in forest and woodland though it sometimes inhabits plantations.

During the day it roosts singly or in pairs in dense cover, high in trees, calling begins after dusk.

[4] This owl is named after the British soldier of the Napoleonic Wars and naturalist Colonel E.J.A.