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Australian Masked Owl (Tyto novaehollandiae) Alternate name(s): "Cave Owl", "Chestnut-faced Owl", "Mouse Owl" Aboriginal name(s): Race "novaehollandiae": "bina" (WA) Size: 33-41 cm (male), 39-55 cm (female); wing span: 0.85-1.29 m Body mass: 420-800 g (male), 550-1260 (female) Wing loading [g/cm2]: 0.28-0.44 (overall)

Australia: Family Group 13 Family Group 13 Table Oriental Cuckoo Pallid Cuckoo Brush Cuckoo Black-eared Cuckoo Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo Fan-tailed Cuckoo Horsefield's Bronze-Cuckoo Shining Bronze-Cuckoo Little Bronze-Cuckoo Australian Koel Channel-billed Cuckoo Pheasant Coucal Rufous Owl Powerful Owl Barking Owl Australian Boobook Eastern Barn Owl Eastern Grass Owl Australian Masked Owl Greater Sooty Owl Lesser Sooty Owl Marbled Frogmouth Tawny Frogmouth Papuan Frogmouth White-throated Nightjar Spotted Nightjar Large-tailed Nightjar Australian Owlet-nightjar Family group table Index of bird names Habitat pages Key plants Thumbnails page Birds home page

Similar species

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

Physical description Click here for a physical description Australian Masked Owls are small to medium-sized owls, with birds in the tropical North being smaller than those in the south of their range. Australian Masked Owls have a conspicuous, heart-shaped white facial mask. Their plumage is dimorphic, i.e. males and females are slightly different. Males have a pale-grey facial maks with a dark-grey fringe around it. Also the eyes are surrounded by slim dark-grey margins. The front, from chest to belly including the flanks, is speckled with dark-grey inverted chevrons. The back (upperparts) is highly cryptic dark-grey with silver-grey streaks and a rufous wash. The wings show a bar pattern in these colours. The legs are covered in white feathers. The irises are dark; the bill is light grey to horn-coloured. The feet are grey. Females are larger than males and they are rufous where males are white. On the upperparts the rufous tinge is much stronger than in males. Males of race "kimberli" have an all-white front and white sides of the head. Females of race "kimberli" have the same colours as males, with lots of dark-grey specks down the front.

Taxonomy, classification See Australian Masked Owl at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range 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 Australian Masked Owl is available HERE . There are 6 (possibly 7) extant races of Australian Masked Owls. Of these, race "calabyi" populates southern New Guinea. All others are found in Australia and its surrounding islands. Of the endemic Australian races, nominate race "novaehollandiae" has the most wide-ranging distribution. It is present along much of the (near-)coastal fringe of the Australian continent, from the base of Cape York peninsula in the North-east down to the southern tip of the continent (no farther inland than ca. 300 km). Its range continues, in a more scattered and uncertain distribution, along the South coast of Australia into south-western WA, continuing northward to about Exmouth, possibly the North-west Cape. There are a few individual reports of birds in the inland Pilbara and Gascoyne, WA, as well. The range of race "kimberli" extends across much of the tropical North of Australia, from the Kimberley, WA, in the West to the southern tip of the Gulf of Carpentaria in the East. Only on the Tiwi Islands, off the coast of Darwin, NT, a separate race, "melvillensis", is present. Australian Masked Owls on Cape York peninsula belong to race "galei". This race is by some considered to be part of race "kimberli". Race "castanops" is originally from Tasmania, but has also been introduced to Lord Howe Island. Australian Masked Owls have a preference for old forest with trees large enough to provide potential nest hollows. They also roost in tree hollows. Usually they are found around the edges of forest, towards open grassland, where they use tall trees as perches to hunt in the open areas.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "novaehollandiae" M. Eaton found an Australian Masked Owl, nominate race "novaehollandiae", on several occasions at Pullenvale, Brisbane, QLD, in August 2020. A pair was found at the same location again in July/August 2022, in July 2023, and again in December 2023. All sighting, photographic and audio information presented on this page has been kindly contributed by M. Eaton.

Photos

Race "novaehollandiae"

ADULT

MALE

The bird shown here, photographed in July 2022, was found to be smaller than its partner and should therefore be a male.

Frontal view of a male Australian Masked Owl (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Pullenvale, Brisbane, QLD, July 2022]

Frontal view of a male Australian Masked Owl looking downwards (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Pullenvale, Brisbane, QLD, July 2022]

Frontal view of a male Australian Masked Owl looking sideways (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Pullenvale, Brisbane, QLD, July 2022]

Near-frontal view of a male Australian Masked Owl; note the typical hunched stance (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Pullenvale, Brisbane, QLD, July 2022]

Near-frontal view of a male Australian Masked Owl looking sideways (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Pullenvale, Brisbane, QLD, July 2022]

Near-lateral view of a male Australian Masked Owl; note the typical hunched stance (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Pullenvale, Brisbane, QLD, July 2022]

FEMALE

The bird shown here, photographed in July 2022, was found to be larger than its partner and should therefore be a female.

Frontal view of a resting female Australian Masked Owl (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Pullenvale, Brisbane, QLD, July 2022]

Frontal view of a resting female Australian Masked Owl looking sideways (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Pullenvale, Brisbane, QLD, July 2022]

Lateral view of a female Australian Masked Owl looking at the observer (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Pullenvale, Brisbane, QLD, July 2022]

Lateral view of a female Australian Masked Owl looking up into the tree crown (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Pullenvale, Brisbane, QLD, July 2022]

Sex unknown

Close-up frontal view of an Australian Masked Owl (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Pullenvale, Brisbane, QLD, July 2023]

Frontal view of a resting Australian Masked Owl (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Pullenvale, Brisbane, QLD, July 2023]

Close-up near-frontal view of an Australian Masked Owl looking at the observer (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Pullenvale, Brisbane, QLD, July 2023]

Close-up near-lateral view of an Australian Masked Owl looking at the observer (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Pullenvale, Brisbane, QLD, July 2023]

Near-lateral view of an Australian Masked Owl looking backwards (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Pullenvale, Brisbane, QLD, August 2022]

Lateral view of an Australian Masked Owl (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Pullenvale, Brisbane, QLD, August 2022]

Near-dorsal view of an Australian Masked Owl looking back at the observer (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Pullenvale, Brisbane, QLD, December 2023]

Near-dorsal view of an Australian Masked Owl looking back at the observer, different posture
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Pullenvale, Brisbane, QLD, December 2023]

Near-dorsal view of an Australian Masked Owl looking sideways (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Pullenvale, Brisbane, QLD, August 2022]

Dorsal view of a resting Australian Masked Owl (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Pullenvale, Brisbane, QLD, July 2023]

Dorsal view of an Australian Masked Owl with drooping wings (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Pullenvale, Brisbane, QLD, August 2022]

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial

Mobility: Dispersive

Elementary unit: Solitary/pair

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

maskowl_me_20200804.m4a	novaehollandiae (SE QLD)	Contact calls (male)	© ME
maskowl_me_20230228.mp3	novaehollandiae (SE QLD)	Chattering calls (courting male)	© ME
maskowl_me_20230228_2.mp3	novaehollandiae (SE QLD)	Chattering calls (courting male) + screeching call (female response)	© ME
maskowl_me_20230228_3.mp3	novaehollandiae (SE QLD)	Chattering calls (courting male) (+ Plumed Whistling-Duck)	© ME

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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