Tasmania has its own boobook, the closely related Tasmanian boobook ( Ninox leucopsis). Their repetitive two-note call ‘boo-book’ or ‘more-pork’ is a familiar night sound for many Australians. The southern boobook is the smallest and most common owl in Australia. If there are no tree hollows available, barking owls may nest on the ground. Like all owl species in Australia, the barking owl nests in tree hollows. Barking owls prey upon a wide variety of animals - small to medium mammals, birds, and large insects, reptiles and even fish! These owls are most active in the early hours of the night, and last hours before dawn. They are widely distributed throughout Australia but are absent from central desert areas. Northern populations of this species are darker and smaller.īarking owls are found in open woodlands and the edges of forests, often near farmland. Their eye colour is pale-yellow to yellow. They are smaller in height, and have streaks on the breast rather than the chevron pattern seen on powerful owls. Their alarm call sounds like a woman screaming.īarking owls look like robust, compact versions of the related powerful owl. Barking owl ( Ninox connivens)īarking owls are named after their distinctive double note ‘woof woof’ calls, which may be a duet between pairs. Powerful owls mate for life – with a pair bond that can last for over 30 years. Scientists estimate one owl may eat 250-300 possums per year. They will also hunt roosting birds, small rodents, marsupials, and the occasional beetle. Ringtail possums and greater gliders are on the menu for powerful owls. They will swoop down from trees and use their feet to grab their prey. As possum numbers increase in urban areas, powerful owls are increasingly observed during the day in suburban parks, often clutching the remains of a possum from the previous night’s hunting. They like open forests and woodlands with wet, dense undergrowth along watercourses, but prefer sheltered gullies for breeding. Powerful owls can be seen in east and south-east Australia. Juveniles have a pure white breast and head (with black specks) and a dark face mask. The female powerful owl is generally smaller than the male, with a narrower head and a more rounded crown. It has a rather small, rounded head with piercing yellow eyes set in a dark grey-brown facial mask that’s finely streaked with white. The powerful owl is big – up to 60cm in length from head to tail. The male’s deep, low, and impressive ‘whoo-hoo’ call may be heard over 2 km away. The powerful owl is the largest of Australia’s owls.
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