Unusual frequent occurrence of Ural owls (Strix uralensis) in urban and rural habitats in the lowlands of southern Slovakia during the winter 2017/2018

The Ural owl (Strix uralensis) is considered to be a habitat specialist preferring structurally heterogeneous old montane forests in Central Europe. Unlike the sympatric tawny owl (Strix aluco), the Ural owl is negatively affected by human activities in its forest habitats and usually avoids human settlements. Although the young birds and wintering adults show no strong dependence on the size of forest patches and their structure, there are only a few studies on the occurrence of this owl species in non-forest and urban habitats. Here we describe several observations of wintering Ural owls in south-eastern and south-western Slovakia outside the forests during the winter 2017/2018. The Ural owls were recorded in agricultural country, but not infrequently also in human settlements.