cárabo
/ˈkaɾabo/masculine
The English phrase 'tawny owl' is translated into Spanish as cárabo.
The term cárabo refers to the bird species Strix aluco.
Meaning: Strix aluco (noun)
Is it said differently in some regions?
In certain regions, such as Spain and parts of Latin America, the term Autillo is used to describe the tawny owl.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈkaɾabo/
Did you know?
- The name cárabo may have originally described a beetle rather than a bird, following a strange shift from an insect to a nocturnal predator.
- In traditional Spanish rural culture, the hooting of a cárabo is not just a natural sound but a superstition. Hearing its call at night is often interpreted as a premonition of misfortune or death in some villages.
- Spanish differentiates between búho and lechuza, while English uses 'owl' for both. The cárabo is categorized as a búho because of its ear tufts, which a lechuza lacks.
Examples in context
- El búho leonado tiene plumas de color crema y marrónThe tawny owl has cream and brown feathers.
- un cáraboA tawny owl
- el cáraboThe tawny owl
- Vi un cárabo en el bosque.I saw a tawny owl in the forest.
Example conversation
Lucía and Mateo are walking through a park.
- Lucía¡Mira aquel árbol, Mateo!Look at that tree, Mateo!
- Mateo¿Qué hay allí?What is there?
- LucíaCreo que es un cárabo.I think it is a tawny owl.
- MateoEs verdad, qué bonito es.It's true, how pretty it is.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “tawny owl” translations and entries cárabo, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries cárabo, CC BY-SA 4.0.
