Powerful Owl (Ninox strenua)

Powerful Owl

[order] STRIGIFORMES | [family] Strigidae | [latin] Ninox strenua | [authority] Gould, 1838 | [UK] Powerful Owl | [FR] Ninox puissant | [DE] Riesenkauz | [ES] Ninox Robusto | [NL] Grote Valkuil

Subspecies

Monotypic species

Genus

Members of the genus Ninox are hawk owls, ranging from small to large, with rounded heads without ear-tufts. They have long, pointed wings and a long tail. The nostrils are forward facing on an enlarged cere in an indistinct facial disk. There are at least 20 species in this genus, from Siberia through much of the Pacific rim, South-east Asia and Australasia.

Physical charateristics

The Powerful Owl is a large owl with a relatively small head and a rounded tail. It is dark grey to dark grey-brown above, with white barring, and off-white below, with distinctive dark v-shaped chevrons. The eyes are yellow, set in a dark grey/brown facial mask. The legs are feathered and the yellow to orange feet are massive, with sharp talons. The sexes are alike but the female is smaller, with a narrower head. Juvenile birds are downy white on the head and underparts, the underparts are sparsely streaked, and they have much shorter tails than the adults. Powerful Owls are the largest of the Australian nocturnal birds (night birds).

Listen to the sound of Powerful Owl

[audio:http://www.planetofbirds.com/MASTER/STRIGIFORMES/Strigidae/sounds/Powerful Owl.mp3]

Copyright remark: Most sounds derived from xeno-canto


wingspan min.: 0 cm wingspan max.: 0 cm
size min.: 52 cm size max.: 60 cm
incubation min.: 35 days incubation max.: 38 days
fledging min.: 54 days fledging max.: 60 days
broods: 0   eggs min.: 1  
      eggs max.: 3  

Range

Australasia : East Australia

Habitat

The Powerful Owl is found in open forests and woodlands, as well as along sheltered gullies in wet forests with dense understoreys, especially along watercourses. Will sometimes be found in open areas near forests such as farmland, parks and suburban areas, as well as in remnant bushland patches. Needs old growth trees to nest.

Reproduction

The Powerful Owl mates for life (over 30 years in some cases) and pairs defend an all-purpose territory year-round. The male prepares the nest, which is usually a vertical hollow in a large old tree, and provides the female and young with a constant supply of food during the early part of the nesting period. The female incubates the, usually 2, eggs for about 5-6 weeks and broods the young. Later in the nesting period she starts to hunt for food as well. The young fledge after about 8 weeks.Young birds remain with the parents for several months after fledging and may stay within their parents’ territory for over a year.

Feeding habits

The Powerful Owl is a carnivore, eating mainly medium to large tree-dwelling mammals, particularly the Common Ringtail Possum, Pseudocheirus peregrinus, and the Great Glider. It will also take roosting birds and sometimes small ground-dwelling mammals such as rabbits or small marsupials. It forages mainly in trees, swooping down on prey and taking prey with its feet

Video Powerful Owl

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iE8GWl7NU5Q

copyright: Geoffrey Dabb


Conservation

This species has a very large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be stable, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size may be small, but it is not believed to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.
Powerful Owl status Least Concern

Migration

Resident and sedentary, young show some dispersal.

Distribution map

Powerful Owl distribution range map

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