| Australian Masked Owl | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Strigiformes |
| Family: | Tytonidae |
| Genus: | Tyto |
| Species: | T. novaehollandiae |
| Subspecies: | See text |
| Binomial name | |
| Tyto novaehollandiae (Stephens, 1826) |
|
The Australian Masked Owl (Tyto novaehollandiae) is a barn owl of Southern New Guinea and the non-desert areas of Australia.
Contents |
Described subspecies of Tyto novaehollandiae include:
Brown feathers surround a white, heart-shaped mask. Their coat is brown, aside from light gray spots on the upper back. Their front is white with brown spots. Their eye color varies from black to dark brown. Females are darker shaded and larger than males. A Masked Owl's weight is 23.3 ounces (660 g). Their wings generally span 35–47 cm. They are one of Australia's largest owls; the largest is the Powerful Owl.
Alternate common names have been used for this species in the past. For example:
The Australian Masked Owl inhabits shrubs,with timber. In Australia they are seldom found more than 300 km inland. They roost and nest in large tree hollows near foraging areas. They are nocturnal and their prey includes rodents, reptiles, birds, insects and bandicoots. The population of the Australian Masked Owl on the mainland is declining and several states have this owl on the Species Conservation Status list. They are territorial and remain in the same area all their lives.
They breed when conditions are favorable which can be any time of the year. The nest is usually built in hollow trees with soil, mulch or sand. Namely the extinct population of the treeless Nullarbor Plain used underground caves or rock crevices for nesting. The female lays two or three eggs and incubates them while the male hunts for food. The young are white or off white when they first develop feathers. They can leave the nest at two to three months of age but return to be fed by the parents for another month before going on their own.
The population of the Australian Masked Owl on the mainland is declining and several states have placed this owl on the Species Conservation Status list.
In Victoria (Australia), the Masked Owl is a listed threatened bird, and an Action Statement has been prepared under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988.