HAWK OWLS

Powerful owl

Ninox strenua

Length: 50–60cm Wingspan: 110–140cm Weight: M 1450g, F 1250g

Australia’s largest owl. Lives in mainland open forests and woodlands from south-eastern QLD to SA. Long, double-hoot call. Wide variety of prey from large possums and gliders to bats, small birds, rodents and sometimes large beetles.

Rufous owl

Ninox rufa

Length: 46–57cm Wingspan: 100–120cm Weight: M 1200g, F 1000g

Australia’s second-largest owl. Lives in variety of forest habitats in northern Australia, from rainforest to savannah woodlands. Call is a low-pitched “woo-hoo”. Hunts possums, bats, birds and insects. Usually seen alone or in pairs.

Barking owl

Ninox connivens Length: 39–44cm Wingspan: 85–120cm Weight: M 425–740g, F 380–710g

Lives mostly in dry forest/woodland in south-eastern Australia, NT and WA. Distinctive dog-like call and a single, loud, high-pitched scream. Hunts roosting birds, from frogmouths to magpies, sugar gliders, and rabbits in open areas.

Southern boobook

Ninox boobook

Length: 30–35cm Wingspan: 56–82cm Weight: M 250g, F 315g

Australia’s smallest and most common owl. Found anywhere with trees Australia-wide. Call is “boo-book”, “mo-poke” or “more-pork”. Feeds on insects, birds, mammals, reptiles. Hunts moths near streetlights.

Roosts in trees and caves. Nests in tree hollows.

Tasmanian boobook

Ninox leucopsis

Length: 28–30cm Wingspan: 60–78cm Weight: M 190g, F 214g

Lives in woods across Tasmania. Roundish owl with large head and bright-yellow eyes. Call a series of two-noted hoots. Diet probably dominated by invertebrates, supplemented with small vertebrates. May migrate to mainland Australia in autumn/winter.