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 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.
The overall distribution of this species can be assessed based
on 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".
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.
All sighting, photographic and audio information presented on
this page has been kindly contributed by M. Eaton.
Photos
Race "novaehollandiae"
ADULT
MALE
Frontal view of a male Australian Masked Owl
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Pullenvale, Brisbane, QLD, August 2020]
Frontal/ventral view of a male Australian Masked Owl
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Pullenvale, Brisbane, QLD, August 2020]
Near-frontal view of a male Australian Masked Owl
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Pullenvale, Brisbane, QLD, August 2020]
Lateral view of a male Australian Masked Owl
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Pullenvale, Brisbane, QLD, August 2020]
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.
Aboriginal name(s): Race "novaehollandiae": "bina" (WA)
Description
Classification
Distribution
Sightings
Photos
Breeding
Nest
Eggs
Behaviour
Food
Call/s
Click here for a physical description
are welcome.