The brown fishing owl (scientific name: Ketupa zeylonensis) is a bird of the family Owl, the genus Ichthyorn.
Size measurement: weight ♂1150-1500g, 1080-1450g; body length ♂532-545mm, ♀510-522mm; mouth peak ♂50-53mm, ♀51-52mm; wings ♂385-400mm, ♀385-395mm; tail ♂190-200mm, ♀200-205mm, tarsus ♂70-71mm, ♀72-75mm ♀. (Note: ♂ male; ♀ female)
It is found in Guangdong, Hong Kong, Guangxi, Yunnan and Hainan Island within China. It is found outside of Asia Minor, India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Indochina and The Malay Peninsula.
The brown owl often travels alone, sometimes in pairs in dense foliage of the forest, but usually at a distance. It is a semi-diurnal bird that often comes out in the afternoon, mostly standing on stumps, dead branches or other higher places at the water's edge, and often flies on the surface of the water, while keeping a close eye on the surface of the water, and once it finds fish, it quickly skims over the water and hunts food directly from the water. The flight seems to be a little difficult, the wings flap fiercely, and the flight is fast and powerful, but it is silent. It feeds mainly on fish, frogs, aquatic insects, etc., but sometimes also eats small mammals, birds, snakes, lizards and insects. In order to prey, it can also walk in shallow water like a wading bird.
The breeding period of brown owl is from June to August, and some are from December to March of the following year. At this time, it is unusual, often chirping. Nests are found in cliffs, caves on shores or tree holes, and old nests of eagles and other birds are also used to lay eggs between the branches of large trees. Eggs are usually laid 2 per clutch, occasionally as few as 1 and as many as 3. The average size of the eggs is 58.7 mm × 47.3 mm.