Owls
Australia has 11 owl species. Owls are raptors characterised by flat faces, large forward-facing eyes, sharp talons and beaks, upright stances and often circles of feathers under their eyes, known as facial disks.
- Barking owl (Ninox connivens)
- Rufous owl (Ninox rufa)
- Powerful Owl (Ninox strenua)
- Southern Boobook (Ninox boobook)
- Christmas Island Boobook (Ninox natalis)
- Morepork (Ninox novaeseelandiae)
- Eastern Barn Owl (Tyto delicatula)
- Eastern Grass Owl (Tyto longimembris)
- Australian Masked Owl (Tyto novaehollandiae)
- Sooty Owl (Tyto tenebricosa)
- Lesser Sooty Owl (Tyto multipunctata)
Owls have evolved a number of remarkable characteristics that make them crafty hunters. Most owls are nocturnal and so hunt only at night, though some are active at dawn and dusk.
They vary greatly in size between species: the smallest (Southern BooBook) weighs just 31 g and measures 31 cm while the largest (Powerful Owl) can measure up to 84 cm (wingspan of 2 m) and weigh 4.5 kg