Got your flashlight? Mosquito spray? Boots on? Tonight we’re going to explore the bush in search of owls and nightjars. It’s a full moon tonight, so the night birds will be more vocal. It’s a warm evening, and there are millions of bugs flying around. Perfect conditions! I wonder what we’ll find? But before we set off, let’s recap the calls of night birds – this is the best way to track them down.
Spotted Eagle-Owl
Gevlekte Ooruil
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This is the most common owl. It’s call is a typical owl “hoo-hoo“. There are long gaps between the calls. This one sounds like a male. The females often give three hoots: “HOO-hu, hoo”. It’s quite soft, even when the birds are close. The best times to hear them are just after the sun sets, and just before dawn.
Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl
Reuse-ooruil
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These giants sound a bit like far-away hippos. A very deep grunting sound, “gok-gok, gok“. At the beginning of this clip there’s only one bird calling, but at the end its mate joins in. I recorded this in tall pine trees in Malawi, in the late afternoon. Babies make a very different squealing cry.
Western Barn Owl
Nonnetjie-uil
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What a freaky sound! It can give you quite a fright at night. These are two birds calling from a half-built building on a farm, just before sunrise. If you listen very closely you can hear another night bird in the background – in addition to the chicken!
African Wood Owl
Bosuil
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What a beautiful sound! It’s easy to hear the difference between the male (lower, deeper voice) and the female (higher voice). To me it sounds like they’re saying “who-who, who-are-you?”. By the way, the pinging sound in the background is a fruit bat.
Marsh Owl
Vlei-uil
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I recorded this Marsh Owl on a big floodplain in Nylsvley Nature Reserve. Can you hear all the frogs and mosquitos in the background? To me, its voice sounds like fabric tearing in half: “kggrrk!”
Southern White-faced Owl
Witwanguil
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I love this sound! A quick, bubbling intro (bu’bu’bu’bu’) and then a louder BOO! If you’re far away, you’ll only hear the BOO-part. There are long gaps between the calls – I made them a bit shorter in this clip.
African Scops Owl
Skopsuil
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You could easily think this is some sort of insect or frog. It’s a very simple sound: just this quick prurrp, about every 5 seconds. Without the help of this call, it would be almost impossible to find these tiny little masters of camouflage.
African Barred Owlet
Gebande Uil
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I recorded this owlet during the day. It started calling after some Terrestrial Brownbuls discovered it and made a big fuss. The call is a long series of whistles (cow-cow-cow…). Or the bird may add some rolling, purring r-sounds (purr, purr, purr….).
Pearl-spotted Owlet
Witkoluil
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If you whistle the sound of this owl it will come to investigate, and attract lots of other birds who come to chase the owl away. But this is not a nice experience for the owl – some birders overdo it! You may hear this sound during the day too.
Fiery-necked Nightjar
Afrikaanse Naguil
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A classic night sound! To me it sounds like “No, call, is prettier!“. Or in Afrikaans “tot, by, die ewenaar!“. They sometimes also make a kind of “woop-woop-woop-woop…” sound. The safest and easiest way to identify nightjars is by their songs. When they are just sitting there, it is a lot more challenging.
Rufous-cheeked Nightjar
Rooiwangnaguil
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This weird trilling can continue for many minutes! It’s crazy that the bird doesn’t have to stop to catch its breath. It sounds like a generator running! Square-tailed Nightjar sounds very similar, but has “gear changes”. I recorded this in a graveyard at night. Spooky!
Freckled Nightjar
Donkernaguil
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This nightjar is found around rocks and hills. But they sometimes also sit on flat roofs. It sounds like a puppy: cow-wow …cow-wow …cow-wow … I recorded this in the Cederberg Mountains. The barking-type sound at the end was the bird flying away when I got too close.
- Please be careful not to disturb birds too much if you’re playing their sounds.
- All the sound and images on this page are copyright Faansie Peacock/Firefinch App.
- To hear all the bird sounds, check out my Firefinch app on App Store/Google Play.