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13

Eastern Grass Owl

(Tyto longimembris)
Alternate name(s): "(Australasian) Grass Owl"
Size: 32-38 cm (male), 35-42 cm (female); wing span 1.0-1.15 m
Weight: 265-390 g (male), 310-480 g (female)

Similar
species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description

Click here for a physical description

Taxonomy, classification

See Eastern Grass Owl at Wikipedia .

Click here for classification information

Range, habitat, finding this species

Click here for information on habitat and range

Sightings

Click here for sighting information

Photos

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ADULT

MALE

Male Eastern Grass Owl sitting in wheat stubble, looking at the photographer
[Near Bellata, NSW, October 2013]

Lateral view of a male Eastern Grass Owl sitting in wheat stubble
[Near Bellata, NSW, October 2013]

Near-dorsal view of a male Eastern Grass Owl sitting in wheat stubble
[Near Bellata, NSW, October 2013]

Male Eastern Grass Owl settling into wheat stubble after flying out of a wheat field where it had been disturbed
[Near Bellata, NSW, October 2013]

FEMALE

Lateral view of a female Eastern Grass Owl in flight; note the very long, dangling legs
[Near Bellata, NSW, November 2013]

Lateral view of a female(?) Eastern Grass Owl in low flight above a wheat field
[Near Bellata, NSW, October 2013]

Near-dorsal view of a female Eastern Grass Owl in flight
[Near Bellata, NSW, November 2013]

Near-dorsal view of a female Eastern Grass Owl in flight, different phase of the wing beat
[Near Bellata, NSW, November 2013]

Dorsal view of a female Eastern Grass Owl in flight
[Near Bellata, NSW, November 2015]

Eastern Grass Owl escaping the approaching combine harvester
[Near Bellata, NSW, October 2013]

This rather distant, back-illuminated view of an Eastern Grass Owl provides the "jizz" of the bird: blunt head, powerful wings, short tail and long, dangling legs extending well beyond the tip of the tail
[Near Bellata, NSW, October 2013]

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial? Mobility: Dispersive/irruptive Elementary unit: Solitary/pair

(Eastern) Grass Owls have particularly long legs, an adaptation enabling them to walk on the ground in tall grass. Astonishingly, they roost and breed on the ground too. When disturbed, they will fly only a short distance before dipping down into dense growth again.

View onto the upperwings of an Eastern Grass Owl in low flight, ready to vanish in the wheat or just the remaining stubble
[Near Bellata, NSW, October 2013]

Female Eastern Grass Owl ducking for cover in sorghum
[Near Bellata, NSW, November 2015]

Here an impression of what was left at the end of harvest for an Eastern Grass Owl to hide in - yet one cannot see the bird that has just landed there at all
[Near Bellata, NSW, November 2013]

After the end of harvest of the winter crop, this was the only remaining suitable habitat left for Eastern Grass Owls: a mixture of grass, reed and weed growth in shallow, usually dry, creek beds or gullies
[Near Bellata, NSW, November 2013]

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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