Australian masked owl

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Australian Masked Owl
Australian masked owl.jpg
Tasmanian Masked Owl
Tyto novaehollandiae castanops
Scientific classification
Kingdom Information
Domain Eukaryota
Kingdom Animalia
Subkingdom Bilateria
Branch Deuterostomia
Phylum Information
Phylum Chordata
Sub-phylum Vertebrata
Infraphylum Gnathostomata
Class Information
Superclass Tetrapoda
Class Aves
Sub-class Neornithes
Infra-class Neoaves
Order Information
Order Strigiformes
Family Information
Family Tytonidae
Sub-family Tytoninae
Genus Information
Genus Tyto
Species Information
Species T. novaehollandiae
Population statistics
Conservation status Least concern[1]
Tasmanian subspecies endangered

The Australian masked owl (Tyto novaehollandiae) is a species of owl found throughout Australia and surrounding islands. The largest of the barn owls, it was given the name mouse owl by early settlers who observed the birds catching large numbers of mice near their homesteads.

Description

The Australian masked owl is approximately nineteen inches long, and has a wingspan of just over two feet. Females are larger than males. They are dark brown above, with some tan mottling; their underparts are a light tan to white. Dark grey to blackish arrow-shaped spots mark the plumage throughout. The facial disk is a whitish color, with a tan or brown wash surrounding the dark eyes. Legs and feet are fully feathered to the toes, which are greyish-yellow to pink. The underparts and facial disk of the Tasmanian subspecies is rufus-brown.

Habits

The owls prefer open forested areas with access to clear fields and grasslands; farmsteads and man-man clearings are also preferred. By day they seek out dense foliage, caves, cavities, or other areas in which to conceal themselves.

Australian masked owls hunt small mammals up to the size of rabbit; small birds, lizards, and insects are also taken. The prey items are swallowed whole, with the hair, feathers, and bones regurgitated later as a pellet, which are found below their nesting sites.

Hollow tree trunks or caves are nesting sites, where up four white eggs are laid. Males do not incubate the eggs; instead they provide the food while the female tends to the eggs. Chicks are fledged at 10-12 weeks of age.

Distribution

Australian masked owls are found throughout much of Australia (excluding the desert interior), the lowlands of southern New Guinea and the Daru Islands. The Tasmanian subspecies was recently introduced with mixed success to Lord Howe Island.

Subspecies

  • T. n. calabyi
Southern New Guinea
  • T. n. castanops
Tasmania; introduced to Lord Howe Island. Largest subspecies.
  • T. n. galei
Cape York Peninsula
  • T. n. kimberli
Northern Australian mainland
  • T. n. melvillensis
Tiwi Islands
  • T. n. novaehollandiae
Southern Australian mainland
  • T. n. troughtoni
Nullarbor Plain, southern Australia


References

  1. http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/160032125/0