From Owl Rescue Centre
We have eight different species of African owls living on the sanctuary. The Southern white-faced owls are our 3rd most common species.
Most common are in order: Barn owls, Spotted Eagle owls, White-faced owls, Marsh owls, Pearl Spotted owls, African scops owls, Verreaux’s eagle-owls and lastly African Grass owls.
We also have one solitary African wood owl which theoretically makes him the 9th species. He was accidentally released a couple of years ago when we had that huge fire, but If we’re ever able to catch him, we’ll relocate him back to his indigenous area. 😉
My mistake, I didn’t scroll far enough. I was distracted by the photos.
You are correct, there is no mistaking the one can from the other! The Southern’s bubbling call was my favorite.
I stared at more pictures and still can’t tell them apart. One may be darker, but with every pic having different lighting, I feel that’s not the best thing to go by. I thought the Northern had more white on the belly, but then other pics seem to have a stripped belly.
I agree, the Southern’s is mine, too, probably because it’s so distinctive. I fancy that I like the look of the Southern just a touch more; not that I can distinguish them unless they’re side-by-side. But that call! It’s so interesting they’re so similar looking but so distinctively sounding!