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Golden Masked Owl

Tyto aurantia

The golden masked owl (Tyto aurantia) is a barn owl endemic to the island of New Britain, Papua New Guinea. It is also known as New Britain barn owl, New Britain masked owl, Bismarck owl and Bismarck masked owl. As with other tropical barn owls, it is difficult to spot in the wild and therefore poorly studied. It is likely to be a lowland forest or coniferous species. Golden masked owls are characterized by their brown, light-brown, and white feathered plumages along with their arguably most distinctive feature - their heart-shaped, bright white face. There is considerable variation in the exact weight of the species, but most birds range from 400 to 770 g, with heights ranging from 27 to 33 cm. The golden masked owl is a largely solitary and nocturnal species. Being mostly active at night, golden masked owls have developed a keen sense of hearing which is also common in nocturnal owl species. Golden masked owls are carnivorous and most of their prey is hunted on the ground with the majority of their prey consisting of small mammals such as rodents, other birds, rabbits, and insects.
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More Barn Owls
A photo of a Sri Lanka Bay Owl (Phodilus assimilis)
Sri Lanka Bay Owl
Phodilus assimilis

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What Our Birders Say
SuperOliviaGirl
Really great app
It’s easy to use and it’s fun to log the birds you notice on a walk or just in your garden. There’s a option to record the birds you see in a session which is really nice. Good excuse to stop for a while and just watch birds. I am also enjoying the information part where you can find out fact about birds from all over the world.
Nick S
Work together with community
Been loving using this app to log my bird sightings and work together with community members to identify different birds. I've already learned a lot since I started about a month ago!
Ellesse_W
Learning Birding with Birda
I’m relatively new to birding as a hobby, and Birda is a great way to keep track off all the species I see. I’m still working on my ID skills, but the app is great for figuring out potential species, and the online community is so friendly and helpful. Definitely recommend Birda to both early and serious birders! 🐦
Viperray5
Loving it
I really enjoy being able to interact with other birders on this platform! This seems like a great way to meet other birders and find some new spots.
D3Nature
Great app for learning Birds
I’ve been using the app for a couple of months and love it....Someone said it’s like a real life Pokémon Go for birds. They’re not far off! It’s something that the family can do that gets you out and about. Well worth downloading no matter your age.
Bryan C
Clean and easy to use
Really enjoying this app, it's clean and easy to use. I love the ease of being able to add those one-off birds without starting a whole checklist. I also like the social aspect, like the parts of my Facebook I like, without the ads and junk, just birds. Can't wait to see it become more populated.
Safira V
Birding and wellbeing app
Birda is an excellent platform to share your love of Birding and is a great tool of encouragement for a Birding Beginner like me. Birda has a very kind and supportive community of Birding enthusiasts. For me BIRDA is not only a BIRDING but also a WELLBEING App.
Louise L
Easy to use and accurate
Love this app. It is easy to use and accurate, Their backup communication is really good. I noted a missing species. All through the process, I was kept informed about the progress in correcting the information. I now have the corrected, updated version. 😁 Thanks!
Abi.M
Awesome App
I really enjoy using this app! It is such a friendly community of bird-lovers who are happy to help if I need ID advice. It’s been great motivation to get outdoors and go birding more! 10/10 😍😍
Tralisalandhoop
Fantastic app - Love it!
Love this app and have used it almost daily. Lots of species information and easy to use. Love seeing birds spotted by other users in the UK and worldwide.

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