on bird sounds and bird songs

1991 HOLLANDS, David

Birds of the Night

There is something incredibly thrilling about the sound of a Powerful Owl, a deep resonant 'ooo hooo' with a ringing, musical quality which is totally absent from the, in some ways, similar call of the Rufous Owl. Heard in the stillness of the forest at night it is a sound which fills the air as though projected through an amplifier and it has great carrying power.

1936 FLEAY, David. B.Sc. 

The Argus, Saturday 27 June 1936

"FEROX," the Powerful Owl. Is He the "Screaming Woman" Bird?

As if aware of the unique position which he has held for the last 10 years as the only bird of its kind known in captivity. "Ferox," a fine Powerful Owl, regards his admirers with a regal, haughty mein, and a fused unwinking stare from great yellow eyes.

Representing the largest species of Australian owl and typical of one group in which the facial mask is not distinct, this large bird which is living at Parkville, Melbourne, has had a rather varied career. Perhaps he owes his wise and austere expression to five years in the impressive environment of a theological college from the study windows of which floated at times much Biblical and other discourse!

Frequently on cold frosty nights, as if inspired by what he heard. "Ferox" would lift his deep hoarse voice and call "woo-hoo" across the neighbourhood in the age-old fashion of his kind. Gradually working into his stride, his calf-like cry would attain its full volume to be followed by the flinging up of window after window as exasperated gentlemen interrupted in their studious concentration hurled forth colourful admonitions for silence. Generally by morning the roof of "Ferox's" dwelling held a miscellaneous collection of tennis balls, rubbish baskets, boots and even boxing gloves while the culprit sat in dignified state in his dark daylight retreat.

Only very occasionally to women and children who please his critical eye does "Ferox" condescend to unbend sufficiently to utter a low throaty conversational call and perhaps even slowly to wink his round yellow eyes!

Apart from his rarity as a Powerful Owl in captivity, the paramount interest in this large bird has centred in his various calls, for his species is credited with the most frightful bloodcurdling and terrifying cry or series of cries known to the Australian bush by night. No ornithologist has ever come forward and stated that he has both seen and heard a Powerful Owl uttering its unearthly and unforgettable screams. So far "Ferox" has proved of little help in settling the matter, for in 10 years of close observation only his low conversational guttural notes and the far sounding "woo-hoo" night calls have been heard. It must be recorded, however, that on several occasions the bird has appeared to be on the point of breaking away from his deliberate double syllables call by the utterance of a third excited and rather raucous note reminiscent of part of the terrifyIng cry which I have heard four or five times in the uncanny silence of night in the bush.

Opinions of Observers

It is of interest to note that several bushmen from widely separated districts who claim both to have seen and heard the "screeching woman" owl state inpendently that the breast of the large bird reminded them in its markings of a Plymouth Rock fowl. It was whitish barred and streaked with darker colour like the Powerful Owls under-surface markings.

The other owl which certain leading ornithologists consider to be the originator of the unearthly cries is the sooty species, a member of the second group of owls which shows a well defined facial mask, but the Sooty Owl, as its name implies, is coloured sombrely and its under surface is dark and plain in colour. Like the Powerful Owl this bird inhabits heavily timbered range country.

In discussing the claims of these two birds to the startling night cry it is in-teresting to refer to their respective related species. Smaller but similar cousins of the Powerful Owl are the Winking Owl the Boobook Owl and the Spotted Owl. All these birds utter as a usual call note a double-syllable cry corresponding to the "woo-hoo" of the Powerful Owl. With the Boobook Owl this is the familiar "mopoke" cry. In addition to their common calls these smaller relatives utter a variety of startling cries not often heard. For instance though the Boobook Owl is common about the city how many people have heard its startling cat-like cry of repeated "wows" or the loud trilling "hunger-call" of the adult bird. Why therefore should not the Powerful Owl be capable of startling the night silence with unearthly sounds vastly different from his customary "woo-hoo" call? In the case of the Sooty Owl I have both seen and heard its very close relatives the Masked Owl and Tasmanian Masked Owl and also the smaller Barn Owl, uttering their night cries, and in each case the harsh rasping expressionless calls were much the same, though given with more volume in the case of the larger birds.

Thus, though definite and reliable evidence is still to come, it does not appear to be likely that the Sooty Owl would be so radical as to make the night hideous with discordant moans and shrieks while its very close relatives are so limited and lacking in variety of vocal accomplishment. In habits the Powerful Owl is extremely shy, and because of its retiring ways and fondness for heavy forest regions it is not surprising that it is still a bird of mystery and little-known habits. My own observations over a number of years in the Ballan-Daylesford area, at Mount Cole, near Beaufort, at Healesville, Upper Beaconsfield, and in East Gippsland have shown that usually with the approach of dusk - particularly on still evenings - the Powerful Owl lifts its voice before leaving its daylight perch and utters a series of deep 'woo-hoo" calls. Again before dawn previous to settling down for the day the calls once more are heard over the forest from the same vicinity. In between these times the large birds range up and down gullies and far over the bush in search of rabbits possums, and phalangers. My notes indicate that it is in the night in gullies often well away from the timbered hills that the alarming cries are heard. In the dense bush near Korweinguboora, Vic. a Powerful Owl dwells in a favourite black-wood tree a mile from a eucalyptus dis-tillers hut, and this old bushman is very emphatic that the bird has been there calling regularly In his double note for more than 30 years. The theory of the bird's long residence is supported by the innumerable disgorged bones and plentiful fur of victims lying on the ground beneath the tree.

What Disturbed the Caretaker?

The distillers hut is on a creek in an open gully, and this man and his neighbours some miles farther upstream have been startled at various times by the screaming calls. In fact, they tell of a horse which bolted with its rider when the cries came from a tree directly above them. Even more startling was the experience of a city man who once took the position of caretaker of Cave Hill fern gully and waterfalls (Beaufort district Vic) and camped in a tiny tent in the gully with a dog as his only companion. At the close of his second day's residence there the summer night came warm and deathly still, and for several hours he lay reading in his bunk by the light of a candle stuck in a bottle. Abruptly, to use his own words, the air was filled with awful screeches like women being strangled each scenes ending in ghastly moaning sounds. The petrified listener trembled with fright willie his dog crept beneath the bunk with his hair stiff from terror. I saw a Powerful Owl perched in the same gully several days later

"Ferox" observes the custom of his kind in calling in the dusk and dawn and occasionally in the night, but the fact that he has no mate and cannot range far and wide, and even the fact that "he" is possibly a 'lady" may be responsible for the absence of the long-awaited call. Several Powerful Owls and several Sooty Owls in captivity would be of great value in settling an interesting con-troversy, and the experiences of bushmen would undoubtedly be most acceptable in establishing the identity of the "screech-ing woman" bird.