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13

Rufous Owl (Ninox rufa) Alternate name(s): "Rufous Boobook" Size: 45-55 cm Weight: 0.7-1.7 kg

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 Southern Boobook Eastern Barn Owl Eastern Grass Owl Australian Masked Owl 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 Rufous Owls are large owls. Unlike many other species of bird of prey, in Rufous Owls the male is bigger and heavier than the female. The back of both sexes is dark-brown, with lighter barring. The front is rufous-brown, with lighter barring. They have a dark-grey facial mask, with a white throat and whitish frons and prominent, yellow eyes. The undertail is barred light-grey. Like those of several other Australian owl species, their wings have an off-white patch on the leading edge. The bill is light-grey, the legs and feet are yellowish.

Taxonomy, classification See Rufous 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 based on sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Rufous Owl is available HERE . Rufous Owls, apart from Australia, are also found in West Papua (Indonesia) and New Guinea. The three races of Rufous Owl found in Australia are all endemic to the continent. Nominate race "rufa" is found along the tropical coast of far-northern WA, eastward of about Derby, WA, and the Top End the NT, including Arnhemland. Race "meesi" is found on Cape York peninsula (except its southern central part), whereas race "queenslandica" is found only along the QLD East coast, from about Cooktown in the North to Rockhampton in the South. Rufous Owls have a preference for closed forest and other dense vegetation.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "rufa" B. Hensen reports spotting a Rufous Owl, race "rufa", in the Darwin, NT, Botanical Garden in April 2005 and again in July 2017 and July 2018. In October 2018 they were found there with a juvenile in tow. H. Mouritsen spotted a Rufous Owl, race "rufa", in the Darwin, NT, Botanical Garden in October 2015. P. Brown reports finding a pair of Rufous Owls, race "rufa", in the Darwin, NT, Botanical Garden in May 2018 and again in July 2018. They were also found at Rapid Creek, Darwin, NT, in December 2018, and at Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, in April 2020. They were observed exploring a potential nest hollow at the same location in May 2020, in a tree where they had previously been found roosting. P. Brown reports finding another pair of Rufous Owls, race "rufa", at the Sewage Treatment Plant, Katherine, NT, in July 2020. M. Eaton found a Rufous Owl, race "rufa", at Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, in July 2020.

Photos

Race "rufa"

ADULT

MALE

Frontal view of a Rufous Owl; this bird is taller than the partner it was seen with
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Rapid Creek, Darwin, NT, December 2018]

Near-dorsal view of a male Rufous Owl (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Rapid Creek, Darwin, NT, December 2018]

FEMALE

Frontal view of a Rufous Owl with its prey, a possum; this bird was smaller than the partner it was seen with
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Rapid Creek, Darwin, NT, December 2018]

PAIR

Frontal view of a pair of Rufous Owls taking an interest in the photographer - the male, on the left, is slightly smaller than the female; these are the birds whose calls were recorded on 15 April 2020 (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, April 2020]

Below a sound recording of the alarms of other bird species caused by the pair of Rufous Owls shown above.

alarm_pb_20200411.m4a

(Darwin, NT)

Alarm calls (various species)

© PB

Frontal/ventral view of a pair of Rufous Owls (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Botanical Garden, Darwin, NT, May 2018]

Dorsal view of a pair of Rufous Owls (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Botanical Garden, Darwin, NT, May 2018]

Dorsal view of a pair of Rufous Owls; note how they look grey, rather than rufous, when deep in shade
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Botanical Garden, Darwin, NT, May 2018]

Sex unknown

Frontal view of a Rufous Owl (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, July 2020]

Near-frontal view of a Rufous Owl (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Botanical Garden, Darwin, NT, July 2018]

Near-lateral view of a Rufous Owl (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, November 2020]

Near-lateral/ventral view of a Rufous Owl (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, April 2020]

Near-dorsal view of a Rufous Owl (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, July 2020]

Close-up frontal view of a Rufous Owl in captivity (photo courtesy of J. Thurmer)

Frontal view of a Rufous Owl in captivity now with its head turned (photo courtesy of J. Thurmer)

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Frontal/ventral view of a juvenile Rufous Owl (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, November 2020]

Frontal view of a juvenile Rufous Owl (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, October 2020]

Adult Rufous Owl with a juvenile (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Botanical Garden, Darwin, NT, October 2018]

Frontal view of a juvenile Rufous Owl (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Botanical Garden, Darwin, NT, October 2018]

Frontal/ventral view of a juvenile Rufous Owl (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, August 2020]

Frontal/ventral view of a juvenile Rufous Owl (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, August 2020]

Lateral view of a juvenile Rufous Owl (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Botanical Garden, Darwin, NT, October 2018]

Dorsal view of a juvenile Rufous Owl (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Botanical Garden, Darwin, NT, November 2018]

Dorsal/ventral view of a juvenile Rufous Owl (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, August 2020]

Breeding information

Breeding season: Jun - Aug

Eggs: 1 - 2

Incubation period: 36 - 38 days

Fledging age: 35 - 42 days

The breeding season listed above is for the northern tropics. Further south, in eastern QLD, the breeding season is from August to December.

Nest building: Male

Incubation: Female

Dependent care: Female & male

Nest

"bungobittah", "malunna" = nest [Aboriginal]

Type: Tree hollow

Material: No lining

Height above ground: 3.5 - ? m

Three-pronged major fork with a hollow in the main trunk that was explored by a pair of Rufous Owls for its suitability for nesting; at about 2 m above ground, this hollow is unusually low, but there may have been a lack of suitable trees after tropical storms and bushfires wrought havoc in the area (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, May 2020]

Overview of the surroundings of the same tree as shown above (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, May 2020]

Wider overview of the tree itself (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, May 2020]

Eggs

"boyanga", "booyanga", "derinya", "dirandil", "koomura", "ngampu", "nooluk", "pateena" = Egg; "dirundirri" = eggs [Aboriginal]; "gawu" = eggs [gamilaraay]

Size: 53 x 45 mm

Colour: White

Shape: Tapered oval

Food, Diet

Frontal view of a female Rufous Owl with its prey, a flying fox (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, April 2020]

Near-lateral view of a female Rufous Owl with its prey, a flying fox (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, April 2020]

Lateral view of a female Rufous Owl with its prey, a possum (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Rapid Creek, Darwin, NT, December 2018]

Scats and an abandoned Rufous Owl meal of flying fox below a roost (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Sewage Treatment Plant, Katherine, NT, July 2020]

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.

rufowl_pb_20200415.m4a	rufa (Darwin, NT)	Territorial calls	© PB
rufowl_pb_20200415_2.m4a	rufa (Darwin, NT)	Territorial calls	© PB
rufowl_pb_20200415_3.m4a	rufa (Darwin, NT)	Territorial calls, plus surroundings	© PB

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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