Typical Owls (Strigidae)

Rufous Owl (Ninox rufa) - HBW 5, p. 231

French: Ninoxe rousse German: Rostkauz Spanish: Nínox Rojizo
Other common names: Rufous Hawk-owl; Brown/Barred Papuan Owl (humeralis)

Taxonomy: Athene rufa Gould, 1846, Arnhem Land, Northern Territory.
Sometimes considered to form superspecies with N. strenua. Races require revision: meesi possibly only a pale morph of queenslandica; Aru population sometimes separated as aruensis, but apparently indistinguishable from humeralis; species has even been suggested as being monotypic. Four subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution:

humeralis (Bonaparte, 1850) - New Guinea, including Aru and Waigeo Is.
rufa (Gould, 1846) - NE Western Australia (Kimberleys) and N Northern Territory (Arnhem Land).
meesi Mason & Schodde, 1980 - coastal and subcoastal Cape York, S in Queensland to about R Endeavour and R Mitchell.
queenslandica Mathews, 1911 - coastal and subcoastal Queensland from R Endeavour S to lower R Burdekin and perhaps Rockhampton.