(Tyto capensis)
Abundance: Uncommon. Breed in northern and north-eastern coastal areas of
Australia including Western Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland and
New South Wales, and along the border of the Northern Territory and Queensland. Sighted in metropolitan Victoria and in the southern part of Western
Australia where they are vagrant and non-breeding.
Habitat: Swampy heaths, coastal grasslands. Usually roosts and always
breeds on ground. Hunts exclusively on the wing. Feeds on small mammals.
Movement: Nomadic.
Description: Slim; upright posture. Very small, black eyes. Heart-shaped
mask; brown and white border, white disc, dark tear marks. Upperparts
dark brown, washed orange, white-spotted. Underparts white, finely dark-
spotted; breast washed orange. Very long unfeathered lower legs protrude
well beyond tail in flight. In flight back appears bluish-grey.
Size: Females 37cm. Males 34cm.
Voice: Deep, soft screech; high-pitched trills.
Australia and the Grass Owl seem to be made for each other. The country has
huge areas of grassland and, above all others, it is the Grass Owl that is
adapted to live there. While other owls need hollow trees for roosting and
nesting, and often use perches to hunt from, the Grass Owl requires none of
these. It hunts exclusively on the wing, and roosts and nests in the grass,
shaping chambers, tunnels and escape routes, all invisible from above.
So much of Australia appears to be Grass Owl country, and yet it is one of
our rarest owls. Ground-nesting may be the problem, making it vulnerable
to snakes, goannas, monitors and even the very rats on which the owls prey.
Eggs or young are plundered rendering a high failure rate among the species.
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