The face has the disc-like form typical of most owls, defined by a dark rim, the robust bill is black and hooked, and the head is crowned with small ear tufts.

Two subspecies have been named, B. a. ascalaphus and B. a. desertorum, the latter formerly cited as being smaller and paler with sandier colour; they are no longer accepted as distinct, as the variation is continuous and without geographic basis, so the species now regarded as monotypic.

[2][3] The Pharaoh eagle-owl is native to much of arid Northern Africa, including some of the most desolate parts of the central Saharan Desert,[4] where it may be found in Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Senegal (vagrant owls), Sudan, Tunisia and Western Sahara.

[4] Its range extends eastward into the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East, where it is found in Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the United Arab Emirates.

[4][1] Its preferred habitat is mostly open, barren plains or desert with scattered palms or other endemic plants, where it nests in rocky outcrops, wadis and cliffs.