Barking Owl

Barking Owl

Ninox connivens

Silhouette: Rachel T Mason · PhyloPic

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Daintree National Park
7 Verified sightings at Daintree National Park From 2019 to 2026
302 Verified sightings across all 7 parks From 2019 to 2026
May Best month highest sighting rate
☀️🌙 Day & Night When it's spotted Active throughout day and night

About the Barking Owl

The barking owl (Ninox connivens) or barking boobook, also known as the winking owl, is a nocturnal bird species native to mainland Australia and parts of New Guinea and the Moluccas. They are medium-sized brown owls and have a characteristic voice with calls ranging from a barking dog noise to an intense human-like howl.

The owl takes its name from its characteristic barking voice. For a short period before 2016, the Red List of Threatened Species referred to this species as the "barking boobook". However, this is not used as a common name in Australia or other English speaking areas in this species' range and has now been corrected to barking owl. The Yanyuwa name for the owl is mulurrku.

The barking owl was first described by the English ornithologist John Latham in 1801 with the binomial name Falco connivens. Latham commented that the species "Inhabits New Holland, but no history annexed, further than that it has a wonderful faculty of contracting and dilating the iris: and that the native name is Goora-a-Gang." The specific epithet is the Latin connivens 'winking'.

There are five subspecies: N. c. rufostrigata (Gray, GR, 1861) - north Maluku Islands... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kakadu National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
2 Litchfield National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
3 Nitmiluk National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
4 Daintree National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
5 Ningaloo Marine Park 🇦🇺 Australia
Insufficient data
6 Kosciuszko National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
Insufficient data
7 Blue Mountains National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
Insufficient data

Quick answers

What are the chances of seeing a Barking Owl in Daintree National Park?

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Barking Owl sighting in Daintree National Park, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.

When is the best time to see Barking Owl in Daintree National Park?

May has the highest sighting rate for Barking Owl in Daintree National Park in our monthly data.

← Back to Daintree National Park