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Lesser Sooty Owls are sooty grey, with a prominent, heart-shaped facial mask. The face is light-grey, while the fringe of the facial mask is dark-grey. Both front and back are scalloped dark and light-grey, with the front being much lighter than the back. The upperwings are mostly dark-grey, with a multitude of light-grey spots. The short, sturdy legs are feathered light-grey, with faint mid-grey rings. The irises are black. The bill is light-grey, the talons are dark-grey.
Lesser Sooty Owls are lighter grey overall and more obviously spotted than Greater Sooty Owls.

Most authorities have now given the Lesser Sooty Owl full species status, separate from the Greater Sooty Owl ("Tyto tenebricosa").

The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org .

The global distribution of the Lesser Sooty Owl is available HERE .

Lesser Sooty Owls are endemic to north-eastern Australia.

The range the Lesser Lesser Sooty Owl is limited to the coastal fringe and the tablelands around Cairns, in tropical northern QLD, from just to the North of the Burdekin River at Townsville to about Cooktown in the North. They also occur on Magnetic Island off Townsville, QLD.

Lesser Sooty Owls live in tropical rainforest.

M. Eaton spotted a Lesser Sooty Owl at Yungaburra, QLD, in August 2023. Another was found at the same location in June 2024.

The photos by C. Pears shown below are of birds in captivity, taken at Eagles Heritage, Margaret River, WA.