Barking Owl

The Barking Owl is a medium-sized hawk-owl found across northern and eastern Australia and parts of New Guinea, named for its distinctive call, which can resemble a dog's bark. It favors open eucalypt woodland and riverine forest, often near watercourses.

As a member of the genus Ninox, it lacks the heart-shaped facial disc of barn owls and instead has a flatter, more hawk-like face with large staring yellow eyes. Its plumage is grayish-brown above and boldly streaked below, differing from the spotted pattern of the Southern Boobook.

It is less common than the Southern Boobook across much of its range and has declined in some agricultural areas due to loss of large old trees needed for nesting hollows.

Size and shape

Medium-sized feathers from a bird 35-45 cm long, with rounded wings and a long tail, larger than the Southern Boobook but smaller than the Powerful Owl.

Color and pattern

• Upperparts are grayish-brown, relatively unmarked or finely mottled.
• Underparts are whitish, heavily marked with bold brown streaking rather than spotting or barring.
• The tail is grayish-brown with several darker bands.
• Shafts are pale brown.

Distinguishing from similar species

Compared to the Southern Boobook, Barking Owl feathers are larger and show bold streaking on white underparts rather than the boobook's combination of spotted upperparts and more buff, streaked underparts. Compared to the Powerful Owl, Barking Owl feathers are considerably smaller and lack the chevron-shaped markings.

Adults are grayish-brown above and white below with heavy brown streaking. Sexes look alike, with females slightly larger. Juveniles are paler and downier with less defined streaking. Molt follows breeding on an annual cycle.

This species occurs across northern and eastern Australia and parts of New Guinea, favoring open eucalypt woodland, riverine forest, and farmland with scattered large trees. It is largely resident, though some populations may shift locally with food availability.

Barking Owls hunt insects, small mammals, and birds at night, often from a perch at woodland edges or along watercourses. The call is a distinctive dog-like barking or, at times, a more unsettling scream-like call. Nests are placed in large tree hollows, and pairs are known to be faithful to nesting sites over many years where old trees persist. When identifying a feather, look for grayish-brown upperparts and white underparts with bold brown streaking, in a medium overall size.