Tyto tenebricosa
Silhouette: Sharon Wegner-Larsen · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The sooty owl or greater sooty owl (Tyto tenebricosa) is a medium to large owl found in south-eastern Australia, Montane rainforests of New Guinea and have been seen on Flinders Island in the Bass Strait. The lesser sooty owl (T. multipunctata), is sometimes considered to be conspecific with this species, in which case they are then together referred to as sooty owls. It is substantially smaller and occurs in the wet tropics region of North Queensland, Australia.
Greater sooty owls have a finely white spotted head with scattered white spots on the wings. The females are lighter colored than the males. They appear to be the heaviest of the living species in the barn owl family, however the Tasmanian subspecies of the Australian masked owl is larger still. The females' length is 41 to 50 cm (16 to 20 in) and weighs 750 to 1,200 g (1.65 to 2.65 lb). The smaller male has a length of 37 to 43 cm (15 to 17 in) and weighs 500 to 700 g (1.1 to 1.5 lb). The wing length is 30–40 cm. The large dark eyes are set in a round large facial disk. The facial disk is dark gray-silver or sooty black (changing with age) and has a heavy black edge. The upper part of the owl is black to... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lamington National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Royal National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Daintree National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adelaide Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Caversham Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Ranger Red’s Zoo & Conservation Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Sooty Owl sighting in Royal National Park on a given day, based on 14 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 160th most-seen of the 178 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Sooty Owl in Royal National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 7 and 10 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Sooty Owl sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is mostly seen at night.
Among the best
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Sooty Owl sightings, Royal National Park ranks 2nd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Lamington National Park (Australia, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Sooty Owl is recorded against all the birds logged in Royal National Park (14 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
