Bubo sumatranus or commonly known as the Barred Eagle-owl or the Malaya Eagle Owl is a large and stocky build measuring around 48 cm in length (Strange & Jeyarajasingam, 1993). It belongs to the Strigidae family. This owl is fairly common in Malaysia and throughout much of South-East Asia. It can be found in logged and unlogged forest in lowlands, seldom far up in hilly land and sometimes near rural villages.

The barred eagle-owl appears with grey-brown upperparts, crossed and mottled with several zigzag bars of rufous-tawny colour, being broadest on the back. The upper-tail is dark brown with about six whitish or tawny bars. It also has brown eyes and a yellowish bill set in a pale face-mask; narrow black barring on otherwise whitish underparts, becoming brown on breast and mottled brown above and on its crown. The juvenile is pure white and becomes dirty white in the transition to adult plumage but is banded with brown on the wings and tail. The ear tufts are much shorter than on mature birds.

This species can be distinguished by its barred underparts, large but sideways-slanting ear tufts, a white bar running from the eyebrows through the front of the ear tufts and much more heavily marked upper breast than the lower breast. It has a very broad and opportunistic diet, feeding on large insects like grasshopper and beetles, birds, small mammals especially rodents including mice and rats, and reptiles, largely snakes.