Hello Karen,
I trust you will get more authoritative replies, but as a starting
point, Pizzey and Knight say of the Barking Owl:
"...at beginning of breeding, occasional blood-curdling, human-like
wavering sobbing scream
That might reasonably provoke your reaction?
Some 70 years ago, as a child on Tamborine Mountain (inland from the Gold
Coast) we heard such sounds from a tree-top near our home. My mother, who
knew her local birds, said it was a Powerful Owl. And my 1946 vintage Caley
says of the Powerful Owl: "its call is a hideous scream, not easily
forgotten."
I'm not 'into' owls, but somewhere I've got the impression that the
"screaming woman" call used to be attributed to the Powerful Owl, but that
has been considered to be an error and it is another owl species. Maybe the
Barking Owl. But we never ever heard the dog-like calls of a Barking Owl on
Tamborine Mountain. So I've always wondered.
I look forward to reading the advice you get from the B-aus experts. Thank
you for raising the question.
Cheers
Syd
> From: "Karen" <>
> Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2007 22:20:43 +1000
> To: "BIRDING-AUS" <>
> Subject: [Birding-Aus] Loud bird noise at night
>
> I just went outside tonight to the most GHASTLY noise I've ever heard! Very
> loud
> and very hard to describe. Nothing I've heard before. I did race out with a
> torch worried about my horses and this is the FIRST time I've been this
> apprehensive about going out to investigate a noise! I was scanning the
> paddock, the noise was moving quite fast across the paddock, a really
> frightening screeching of some sort.
>
> It happened again, and I can confidently say it is a bird of some sort. VERY
> loud and sounding very cross. Now up in the trees and moving around. 10pm
> at night. Has anyone any ideas?? I did attempt a recording but was too
> late :(
>
> Cheers,
> Karen,
> Warrandyte, VIC
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