is also known as Perry David's owl , a large owl without ear hair. Females are always much larger than males, although no weight is available. The crown and upper feathers are very brown, with light or white stripes and spots, which are particularly prominent on the nape and mantle. The shoulder blades have a dark white outer web. The dark brown primary and secondary tails have white stripes, and the rather long tail has light and dark stripes with a white tip. The underside is off-white with bold dark stripes with hints of cross bars; the upper chest is washed a light tan. The pale yellow face plate has some dark lines and a line of light and dark spots, and there is a lot of white on the forehead. The relatively small eyes are dark brown with pink eyelid rims and a yellow mouth. The fully feathered legs are a light gray-brown color with pale talons and yellow soles. Young downy chickens are white. The middle conductor is a dirty white color with grayish-brown streaks on and under the head, nape and membrane.
The hoot makes a low whine, similar to that of the Ural owl, but the hoot has also been described as a long, trembling call that rises in pitch. Food and hunting are not well documented, but appear to feed primarily on mammals, such as pika and . Habitat: mixed coniferous-deciduous or old coniferous forest, usually between 2900m and 3300m, but sometimes as high as 5000m. Status and distribution: It is an endemic species in central China, occurring from western Sichuan to southeastern Qinghai and southern Gansu. Classified as vulnerable by BirdLife International.
geographical variation haplotype. This owl was previously thought to be an isolated subspecies of the Ural Owl, which has now been separated because the two are geographically isolated from each other (an encounter is unlikely without crossing the Gobi Desert). In order to determine the taxonomic status and conservation needs of the Sichuan Wooden Owl, there is an urgent need to study the biology and DNA of the Sichuan Wooden Owl. The smaller Himalayan Wood Owl, usually found at lower altitudes (1000-2650 m), has a very rough and rather wide black rachis stripe and a heavy bar below. Some sympatric mountain wood owls live at the same altitude and are the same size as the Sichuan species, but have dense palisades instead of stripes underneath. The geographically separated Ural Owls are very similar, but are generally much paler and have a wider palisade of central tail feathers.
