Australian Boobook
Owl Sounds & Calls
Australian Boobook (Ninox boobook)
Photo Credit: Paul Balfe / License: CC BY 2.0
Australian Boobooks can live in a wide variety of habitats including rainforests, semi-deserts, farmland and even city parks. Despite being common and widespread, they are often hard to see during the day as they generally roost well-hidden in dense foliage.
Listen to Australian Boobook Sounds
The call of the Australian Boobook is one of the most common sounds of the Australian bush at night. Typical song consists of a double note ‘boo-book’ which can be heard throughout the year. They also make a lower-pitched, rapid call, a grating call which sounds not unlike the call of the Glossy Black Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus lathami) and less commonly a ‘yeow’ call. Juveniles often make a trilling or hissing-type call which can be heard at the end of the video below.
The video below contains five different call types of the Southern Boobook:
Australian Boobook – Typical song
B22h18m42sa This first sample features the classic two-note song of the Southern Boobook. Crickets call in the background and towards the end of the track Common Eastern Froglet (Crinia signifera) can be heard calling from the adjacent marsh. Recorded in Dharug National Park, NSW.
Australian Boobook – Rapid Call
B22h18m42sb This sample starts with typical song which soon accelerates into a lower-pitched rapid call. The growl at 00:18 is a Common Brushtail Possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) and the call of Common Eastern Froglet (Crinia signifera) can be heard between 0:25-0:34.
Australian Boobook – Grating Call
XC434920 This third sample was recorded in Wooroonooran National Park, Queensland, and features the grating, braying type calls. This is the subspecies ‘Ninox boobook lurida’, also known as the ‘Red Boobook’.
Australian Boobook – ‘Yeow’ Call
XC593107 This recording features a less commonly-heard vocalisation – a series of ‘yeow’ notes. Recorded near White Cliffs, NSW.
Australian Boobook – Typical Song
XC171992 In this recording, typical two-note song can be heard with the repetitive ‘yip’ calls of Sugar Glider (Petaurus breviceps) in the background. Recorded in Wollemi National Park ,NSW.
Australian Boobook – Typical Song
SD575b Typical two-note song from Eungella National Park, Queensland.
Australian Boobook – Typical Song
XC389950 Typical two-note song from Blue Mountains National Park, NSW.
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Other Night Sounds
Other species you might hear at night in the Australian bush:
Mammals
- Bandicoot, Long-nosed
- Devil, Tasmanian
- Flying Foxes
- Glider, Squirrel
- Glider, Sugar
- Glider, Yellow-bellied
- Kangaroo
- Koala
- Pademelons
- Possum, Common Brushtail
- Possum, Common Ringtail
- Possum, Short-eared Brushtail
- Wombat
Birds
Watercolour painting of a Southern Boobook by ‘The Sydney Bird Painter’. This pre-1800 painting is held by the National Gallery of Victoria.