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Paul Chick found a dead Grass Owl beside the
Glenrowan-Boweya Road at Taminick near the northern tip of Lake Mokoan, SW
of Wangaratta, NE Victoria on 11 February 2006. The body is in his freezer
and will be transferred to the Melbourne Museum. He sent some photographs and
took some measurements for me (tarsus 75 mm, stretched leg projection beyond
tail when pressed flat against tail, 75 mm) which confirm the ID. Mind you the
bare lower tarsi and bright rufous tints in the plumage were convincing
enough.
The species is a vagrant to Victoria. The Vic.
Atlas published in 1987 listed 7 records for the state, interestingly, including
one from Wangaratta. Since then the Birds Australia Atlas lists a record from
Cohuna in northern Victoria in 2001 and one was present at Yambuk Lake near
Port Fairy in the SW of the state from September to November 2002 (a twitch for
many of us).
Mike Carter
30 Canadian Bay Road
Mt
Eliza VIC 3930
Ph: (03) 9787
7136
Email:
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