Interesting to hear on Radio National just now Ed McNabb
playing and discussing owl calls. This raised the old chestnut whether
the Barking Owl or the Sooty Owl is the ‘Screaming Woman Bird’.
The calls played allowed an interesting comparison, both being moderately
scream-like if you want to hear them that way. The name for the owl was suggested
before the present era of the scream connoisseur when we have available the
full spectrum of screams made possible by rock musicians and their fans, TV and
films. It seems to me that the answer to the question ‘which owl?’
turns on what you think a screaming woman sounds like. So many
birdwatchers might know their owls but are not all that familiar with Screaming
Women. Even the most book-burdened outdoors-person is unlikely to have a
field guide that covers that subject adequately.
