[1] English naturalist Richard Bowdler Sharpe described the rufous fishing owl in 1871.

[3] It is named after Herbert Taylor Ussher who provided the type specimen Sharpe used in his description.

[6] It lacks ear tufts and has an indistinct, pale cinnamon facial disc.

[7] The underparts are pale and are finely streaked due to the dark shafts of the majority of the feathers.

[6] The adults have barred flight feathers, with the upperparts of the wings (mantle, scapulars and wing-coverts) showing a mixture of rufous, creamy-buff and white.

[1] A study carried out in Ivory Coast showed that the best responses to playback experiments occur in the small rainy season during the full moon.

It is found in Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, where it occurs as a highly localised resident along shady river banks.

[1] Although it lives in close proximity to the Pel's fishing owl, it has been suggested that they utilise the habitat differently.