A brown owl with a rounded head, yellow eyes, and rufescent barred underparts. Inhabits forest in the lowlands and lower foothills, where it usually occurs in territorial pairs. Confined to the North Moluccas, where it overlaps with migrant Northern Boobook and Barking Owl, but can be separated from those species by its barred underparts and very different voice. Song is a gruff, abrupt, two-note frog-like “woo-wooo” with a slightly longer second note.