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Species
Ninox rufa Gould, 1846
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SUMMARY
A large, rufous-coloured Owl of tropical rainforest. The forehead, crown, nape, back and upper wings are dark rufous, finely barred light brown. The upper tail is similar but with broader bars. The facial disc is indistinct and blackish brown. The throat, breast, and belly are rich rufous, finely and closely barred cream, the bars becoming broader and fewer from the throat backwards. Under the wings and tail is light brown, broadly barred cream. Rufous Owls have a long tail and feathered legs with pale yellow or creamy toes and black talons. Iris is yellow and the bill is pale horn with short black bristles at the base. The male always larger than the female and tends to have a broader, flatter head. Newly fledged young are much smaller than the parents and still part downy. Young adults tend to be more broadly barred than older birds with dark sepia rather than rufous colouring.