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Masked Owl

Tyto novaehollandiae

Family: Tytonidae (Barn Owls (Masked Owls), 5 species in Australia)
Size: F 47cm, M 37 cm
Distribution: Most of the coastal regions of Australia up to a few hundred kilometres inland
Status: Uncommon to Rare
Habitat: Forests, woodlands, caves
References: Simpson and Day, Reader's Digest

The masked owl is a lovely bird that is rarely seen.

Masked Owl - Tyto novaehollandiae
Photo: Featherdale Wildlife Park, Sydney NSW. High Resolution (2874 x 1911)

Masked Owl - Tyto novaehollandiae
Photo: Featherdale Wildlife Park, Sydney NSW. High Resolution (1893 x 2831)

Masked Owl - Tyto novaehollandiae
Artwork: John Gould, 'The Birds of Australia', 1848. Original Scanned Image.

Some Birdwatching Resources

The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia, Graham Pizzey and Frank Knight. This is the other of the two best bird field guides for Australia. It is the one preferred by most serious birdwatchers. However I find the pictures a bit dull looking for my taste — the birds all kind of look the same to me, making it harder to remember them in my mind. The illustrations are meant to be the most anatomically correct, though. If you want the most serious bird field guide get this one otherwise get Simpson and Day.

Click here to purchase from Australia $40.49 AUD

Advanced Bird Language, Jon Young. Advanced Bird Language is an 8-CD audio set which teaches you how to interpret bird language, and other aspects of naturalist awareness. Note that these are not recordings of actual bird calls used to learn to identify which bird sounds like which call — rather they are a series of talks where Jon teaches you how to learn, by observing the birds yourself, what the birds are saying by their calls, their body language, and their other behaviours. The teachings are from North America but they apply to any country.