A pair of Sooty Owls for you, from interestedbystandr
As shown in the photos, it can be a real challenge to see a Sooty, and the wiki says it’s also uncommon to hear a Sooty, plus they don’t actually hoot.
Rarely seen or heard, they can be found in areas with deep gullies in moist forests, where smooth-barked gum trees, tree ferns and wet forest under-storey are present. They may hunt in drier areas but usually roost and breed in the moister areas.
Greater sooty owls are territorial and are thought to remain in the same area throughout their adult lives. Sooty owls have a distinctive range of calls including typical barn owl like rasps and screams, a distinctive “falling bomb” call and an insect like twitter used during close contact with other sooty owls.
YouTube Link to their crazy vocalizations.
Remember, with raptors, the Mrs is the big one, and the Mr is the little dude.
It’s a hoot soot riot!
Man English vowel sounds are a mess
It does require a bit of unorthodox pronunciation to make the rhyme work.
That makes me wonder how it’s pronounced in Australian.
I’d say it with the oo as in wood or the u sound in pudding. The rhyme works with it as the ui in suit with a longer ooooo sound, but I wouldn’t typically say it that way.
They are pretty well camouflaged! Love them.
I debated brightening the pics a bit, but I decided on giving a more realistic image of what they’d look like. I’m sure there’s already some lighting or editing to get them to this level of visibility. Here’s one I just hit the AI lighting button on, do a bit more brightness than I would have gone for, but it gives a much easier look at the owls.
