The collared owl (scientific name: Otus bakkamoena) is a small owl with a body length of 20 to 27 cm. It is very similar in appearance to the red-horned owl , but has a prominent collar at the base of its neck. The upperparts are usually greyish brown or sandy brown with dark insect beetle-like spots and black feathers; the underparts are white or yellowish, with light brown wavy transverse spots and black feathers, and the forehead and eyebrow skin are yellowish white or off-white. Some subspecies are feathered to the toes, and some have bare toes.
China is mainly distributed in Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Hebei, Shandong, Shaanxi, Henan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Hainan Island.
The juveniles are stained brown throughout, with fine brownish-white spots, and the ventral surface is pale and grayish brown, and has down feathers except for the flight feathers and tail feathers. The primary flight feathers are black brown , with grey-black transverse spots on the inner and large brown-white spots on the outside ; the remaining feathers are light black brown with stained gray and brown spots ; and the tail is black brown with light brown insect beetle-like spots. The covered leg feathers are white.
The breeding season is from March to June. Usually nests in natural tree holes, or uses old tree holes abandoned by woodpeckers, and occasionally uses old magpies, and the nest is 1.2 to 5 meters high. Nests are usually not built and there are no paddings in the hole. Each clutch lays 2 to 6 eggs, mostly 3 to 4. The egg is white, ovoid, smooth and spotless, the size is 35 to 38 mm× 30 to 32 mm, the average is 36 mm× 31 mm, the weight is 17 to 19 g, and the average is 18 g. Male and female broods take turns incubating their eggs.