Sichuan Wood Owl

If you look at the list of endemic birds in China， you will find only one bird of prey， that is the Sichuan wood owl representing Strigiformes. "Wood Owl "， by definition， is the owl living in the forest. Sichuan wood owl had previously been treated as a subspecies of Strix uralensis， which is Sichuan Subspecies of Strix uralensis. But it has a long-term geographic isolation with other subspecies of Strix uralensis and has now been considered by many scientists a separate species， thus further promoted to Chinese endemic bird species， and is the only one endemic bird of prey.

Sichuan wood owl's body is slightly larger than Strix uralensis. The characteristic differentiates Sichuan wood owl from Strix uralensis is that the former has black back and slightly white stripes， while Strix uralensis has dark brown back mixed with white vertical stripes. Sichuan wood owl is nocturnal bird of prey in alpine regions， but it is definitely not always "night owls". It also can be seen during the day sometimes in the forest clearing or forest edge areas.