Barking Owl

SPECIES Barking Owl
TAXONOMY Ninox (Hieracoglaux) connivens
STATUS Least concern (Redlist.org); Least concern NT, QLD (ala.org.au); Near threatened SA (ala.org.au)

a.k.a. Winking Owl, Screaming Woman Owl

Named for its distinctive dog-like barking call, the Barking Owl is a medium sized Australian native belonging to the Hawk-owl species. Unlike the Tyto owls with their heart-shaped face and reliance on sound, Hawk-owls have forward facing eyes that provide excellent vision and rely on sight to locate prey. 

Distribution
Barking Owls are distributed throughout mainland Australia in coastal and sub-coastal districts. They are more common in the north. They are absent from arid regions as well as Tasmania.

Habitat
Barking Owls are found in open woodlands and on the edges of forest adjacent to farmland. In the north, they prefer mature forests of eucalyptus including the paperbark or ironbark species of tree; where in the south, they will frequent the red gum. They use the hollows of old growth trees as nesting sites as well as locations to find prey. Commonly, there will be a water source nearby. 

Feeding
Like many owls, the Barking Owl has evolved to enable silent flight through the softening of the trailing edge of its feathers to reduce wind noise. This improves their ability to move swiftly and silently through the canopy of the forest, increasing hunting success rates. 

While both agile and aggressive, they feed on a wide variety of small to medium-sized mammals, birds, reptiles, and insects. Most hunting is performed in the first few hours of the night and the last hours before dawn. Occasionally, birds may even be seen hunting in daylight. 

Behaviour
Usually found in pairs, they characteristically roost in isolated stands of trees in open county. They often remain faithful to the same location for many months or even years. They will hunt relatively close to their nesting site if prey is available.

Typical of most nocturnal birds, Barking Owls are more often heard than they are seen. It is named for its harsh barking call but can also make a much louder, wailing cry, which has given rise to another name, the 'screaming-woman owl’.

The usual call of the Barking Owl, as its name suggests, is a remarkably dog-like woof-woof. However, early settlers were startled to discover that the owl is also capable of making a very different call. Pioneers were occasionally awoken by the terrified screams of a woman being brutally murdered in the bush — at least that’s what it sounded like. However, instead of mayhem, it was simply the alarm call of the Barking Owl, which may be repeated at intervals of several seconds or several minutes.

Calls are usually given at dusk and dawn, often in yapping choruses between male and female which may go on for several minutes. The female's call is noticeably sharper, shorter, and carries further than the male’s call. Females sometimes use a low, groaning hoot of almost cow-like quality to call to young. A dog-like snarling is used in aggression by both sexes near the nest. 

Appearance
The Barking Owl is a moderately large owl belonging to the Hawk-owl family of species. It measures up to 45 centimetres in length, has a wingspan of 100 cm, and weighs up to 500 grams. The males are slightly larger weighing 8% more on average.  It has large forward facing bright yellow eyes and no distinctive facial disk or ear tufts.  Predominantly grey-brown above and whitish below, it is heavily streaked mixing variations from darker to paler.

Reproduction
The male Barking Owl often chooses the favoured nesting site within a hollow-bearing live tree. Pairing for life, it is the female’s role to incubate the clutch of 2 or 3 eggs. They will raise a single brood each year, often reusing the same nesting site. Incubation lasts 36 days, with the fledglings ready, but still partly covered in down, in another 49 days. The young will roost near and remain dependent on the parents for several months.

Threats
Habitat degradation and loss is a major threat to the survival of the Barking Owl. Factors include logging, firewood harvesting, and changing fire patterns. Habitat loss also impacts on their prey species whom also rely on mature forests for nesting. There have also been recordings of secondary agricultural poisoning, predation by feral foxes, and competition for prey species by feral foxes.

The Barking Owl has also been met with an unusual threat to its continued survival. Feral honey bees are displacing the owl by taking over their nesting sites in hollow bearing native trees.

Updated 5 May 2021