The Ural owl is a fairly large nocturnal bird of prey. Both its common name and scientific name refer to the Ural Mountains of Russia, where this bird was collected. The Ural owl has a broad, rounded head with a correspondingly round facial disc, barring a tiny V-shaped indentation. The bird has an exceptionally long tail that bears a wedge-shaped tip. In color, this owl tends to be a plain pale greyish-brown to whitish overall, with a slightly darker grey-brown to brown back and mantle with contrasting whitish markings. The underparts are pale cream-ochre to grey-brown and are boldly overlaid with dark brown streaking, without crossbars. In flight, the Ural owl shows a largely buffish-white underwing marked with heavy dark bars around the trailing edge and tip, while the long white-tipped tail often appears slung downwards.