Today let’s meet a favourite of the Australian bush: the Powerful Owl (Ninox strenua). These big birds are Australia’s largest owl, but they’re also one of the least owl-like looking owls getting around. With their long body and small head, they don’t exactly cut an owly figure. These features make them look a lot more hawk-like, but don’t let that fool you, these beauties are all owl.
They frequent the bushland of Australia’s east coast. Their favourite prey are possums, brushtail and ringtail, and with urban creep bringing these animals closer to our homes, the Powerful Owl is itself sometimes spotted in the suburbs. They like to hide high in the shade of a tree during the day, often still clutching their kill from the previous night.
They nest in big old hollows and usually have two babies. The Powerful Owl baby is like a white fluffy little furby. They’re kinda cute … in a freaky sort of way.
Although they don’t much look like a traditional owl, they do have one thing going for them that most other owls don’t. They are the only owl in Australia that makes the classic ‘who who’ call. So, if you’re out wondering around, alone, in the bush, in the dead of night and you hear someone say ‘who’, it’s probably the Powerful Owl… Either that or you’re about to have a really unpleasant run-in with some creep in the bush. But in their defence, that would be your fault for wondering around in the bush, alone, in the dead of night. Who does that? Who indeed…
Silly possum, don’t wonder around, alone, in the bush, in the dead of the night. That’s how you end up murdered.
07/02/2021
Bird of the Week 