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Australian Wildlife

  Masked Owl (Tyto novaehollandiae)





Masked Owl | Tyto novaehollandiae photo
Masked owl taken at a Traveling Raptor flight display in south-eastern Australia.

Image by Benjamint444 - Some rights reserved.    (view image details)

Masked Owl | Tyto novaehollandiae photo
Masked owl landing

Image by Benjamint444 - Some rights reserved.    (view image details)







MASKED OWL FACTS

Description
Large bird with variable plumage. Dark brown to light chestnut with white speckling. Three distinct colour morphs: light, intermediate and dark. Heart-shaped facial disk chestnut to white with dark margin, around bill and below eyes. Feathered legs. Females larger and darker in colour. 50 cm in total length.

Nest is a bare chamber inside a tree hollow, lined with soil, sand and mulch. Females incubate the 2-3 eggs, while males provide food. Nocturnal, with hunting taking place in the early hours of the night. Prey includes small mammals, other birds, reptiles and insects. The Tasmanian subspecies (T. castanops) is considered Endangered in Tasmanian threatened species legislation and Vulnerable in the equivalent Commonwealth legislation. A subspecies from the Tiwi Islands (T. melvillensis) is listed as Endangered in the Northern Territory.

Author credit: Nicole Zehntner / Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallery

Habitat
Caves, woodlands and timbered waterways, in mature trees with suitable nesting hollows close to foraging areas.

Food
0

Range
Across Australia

distribution map showing range of Tyto novaehollandiae in Australia

Credits:
Map is from Atlas of Living Australia website at https://biocache.ala.org.au licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.


Species Description is from Museums Field Guide, Atlas of Living Australia at website at https://lists.ala.org.au Licensed under Creative Commons Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.




Classification
Class:Aves
Order:Strigiformes
Family:Tytonidae
Genus:Tyto
Species:novaehollandiae
Common Name:Masked Owl

Relatives in same Genus
  Barn Owl (T. alba)
  Grass Owl (T. capensis)
  Lesser Sooty Owl (T. multipunctata)