| Powerful Owl | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Strigiformes |
| Family: | Strigidae |
| Genus: | Ninox |
| Species: | N. strenua |
| Binomial name | |
| Ninox strenua (Latham, 1802) |
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| The Distribution of the Powerful Owl | |
The Powerful Owl (Ninox strenua), also known as the Powerful Boobok, is a species of owl native to south-eastern and eastern Australia, the largest owl on that continent. It is found in coastal areas, the Great Dividing Range no more than 200 km inland.The name Powerful Bookbok is very rarely used as a common name in Australia but the name does appear on the ICUN Red List.
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The Powerful Owl has large yellow eyes, grey-brown V-barring on all features and dull yellow feet. They are aptly named, with very powerful and heavy claws. This owl is the largest species of the "hawk owl" group. This species measures 45–65 cm (18–26 in) in length and spans 112–135 cm (44–53 in). Unlike in most owl species, the male, at 1.15–1.7 kg (2.5–3.7 lb) is slightly larger than the female, at 1.05–1.6 kg (2.3–3.5 lb).[1]
Range is from Eungella in Queensland south to the central highlands of Victoria and west to Mount Burr in South Australia.
Powerful Owls are not listed as threatened on the Australian Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. However, their conservation status varies from state to state within Australia. For example:
Habitat includes mountain and coastal forests, gullies, forest margins, woodlands including sparse hilly woodlands, scrub, plantations and urban and rural parks and gardens.
Usually found in breeding pairs in a large territory, it nests from May to September in hollow tree trunks 8–30 metres above the ground. The nesting material includes decaying debris and leaf litter. Eggs are oval and dull white. One to two and rarely three are laid per breeding season. It can be found in many places throughout Australia, mainly the coast of New South Wales and Victoria.
The Powerful Owl is a nocturnal predator of forests and woodlands. Its diet consists of flighted mammals such as grey-headed flying-fox, (Pteropus poliocephalus), arboreal marsupials such as the Greater Glider, ringtail possums, brushtail possums, Koala, Sugar Glider and Feathertail Glider, nocturnal birds such as the Tawny Frogmouth and roosting diurnal birds such as cockatoos and parrots, kookaburras, currawongs and honeyeaters. Insects are taken on the wing. The vast majority of prey is taken from trees including unlikely items such as rock-wallabies that sometimes take refuge in trees.