Barking owl

The barking owl (Ninox connivens) or barking boobook, also known as the winking owl, is a nocturnal bird species native to mainland Australia and parts of New Guinea and the Moluccas. They are a medium-sized brown owl and have a characteristic voice with calls ranging from a barking dog noise to an intense human-like howl.

The barking owl is coloured brown with white spots on its wings and a vertically streaked chest. They have large eyes that have a yellow iris, a discrete facial mask and yellow skin on the feet. Their underparts are brownish-grey and coarsely spotted white with their tail and flight feathers being strongly banded brown and white. They are a robust, medium-sized owl 39–44 cm (15–17 in) long and their wingspan is between 85 and 120 cm (33 and 47 in). They weigh between 380 and 960 g (13 and 34 oz)[p20]. Size varies only slightly between the male and female birds with the male barking owl being 8-10 % heavier. They are one of only a handful of owl species exhibiting normal sexual dimorphism. In a banding study conducted in the Pilliga forests of northern New South Wales, males averaged 824 g (29.1 oz) with females averaging 745 g (26.3 oz)[p20]. In Australia, the smallest barking owls are found on Cape York Peninsula and the largest in southern Australia.