Roosting behaviour of radio-tracked Tasmanian Masked Owls Tyto novaehollandiae castanops

Roost-sites and roosting behaviour are described for a juvenile female, an adult female and an adult male Tasmanian Masked Owl Tyto novaehollandiae castanops in a forest–farmland landscape. The two female Owls were radiotracked, and frequently used roost-sites in the core area of use. Roost-sites were typically associated with small watercourses, on the edges of large contiguous forest patches within a complex mosaic of forest and pasture. The juvenile Owl used many different vegetation roost-sites after dispersing from her presumed natal territory. In contrast, the adult female used few roosts, including two vegetation roosts and one tree-hollow, and only one roost (a tree-hollow) was located for the adult male. The primary tree-hollow roost-sites of the male and female Owls were <400 m apart and were both <1200 m from a suspected nest-tree. This strongly suggests that the spatial proximity of nest- and roost-sites may be critical to facilitate territorial, foraging and reproductive behaviours of breeding pairs. Increased knowledge of spatial ecology and utilisation of tree-hollows by adult Tasmanian Masked Owls is crucial for their conservation.