The Rufous Owl

Hi, I'm here today to tell you a little bit about our species. My female is feeding our young right now so I will be your host today.

Our foreheads, head, back and upper wings are a reddish-brown or rufous, where we get our name I guess. You humans are so clever that way.
Our face is a blackish-brown and our throats, breast and bellies are also a reddish brown, with stripes of cream running thru. We are a very beautiful bird. We have long tails and feathered legs with pale yellow or creamy toes and black talons. Our bill is pale brown and our eyes are yellow. I am the larger of the species which is unusual in the owl family. Usually the female gets that honor.

Our favorite kinds of food are flying foxes, herons, ducks, parrots, kookaburras, and occasionally crayfish. We will eat insects, if there's nothing else around but just like some of you humans who prefer steak to bologna we have our favorites too.

I would prefer my female to tell you about our breeding habits but since she is busy at the moment I will try my best.
We usually start our families in June and sometimes as late as September. We sit together on branches and get to know one another and then I go and get the nest ready usually in a hollowed out trunk or limb and preferaby as high as possible, sometimes up to 100 ft. She usually lays 1-2 eggs and my little guys are ready to break out in about 37 days. Our young prefer to stay with us for several months which is ok with me as I really miss them when they leave.

We like to live in the rainforests, monsoon forest, and gullies next to woodlands in Northern Australia and New Guinea.

Well time for me to fly and I do mean that literally. Bye for now.