The Barking Owl

Could a tree be a whole neighborhood?
High in the Australian bush, a barking owl named Bram thinks of his old eucalyptus tree as home. But when a bright red ribbon appears around its trunk, he realizes that home may be in danger. With the help of sugar gliders, possums, rainbow lorikeets, and a few clever ideas, Bram must find a way to help the humans see that this isn't just one tree. It’s a neighborhood.
In this episode, kids will learn:
• Why we call them “barking” owls
• How silent flight helps owls sneak up on prey using specialized feathers
• How trees and tree hollows become essential homes for barking owls, sugar gliders, possums, bats, frogs, and many other Australian animals
Wild and Kind Kids is a weekly, screen-free animal podcast for curious kids and their grownups. Every episode blends an original story with real animal science, helping children build curiosity, empathy, and a deeper understanding of the natural world, one remarkable animal at a time.
Listen during bedtime, quiet afternoons, long car rides, or homeschool science lessons about birds of prey, Australian animals, forests, and habitats.
Barking owl audio by Hank Bower from Xeno-canto (xeno-canto.org/species/Ninox-connivens), used under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0) (CC BY-NC-SA) license.
Keep exploring:
• Download this week's free Barking Owl coloring sheet (0f00c271-cc67-41f0-bab6-22990eb1f7eb.usrfiles.…)
• Follow @wildandkindkidspod on Instagram for crafts, nature activities, and behind-the-scenes fun
• Find more resources or request an animal at wildandkindkids.com
Learn along with us and explore some of the resources we consulted:
• Barking Owl (australian.museum/learn/animals/birds/barking-…)(Australian Museum)
• Barking Owl (australiazoo.com.au/wildlife/our-animals/barki…) (Australia Zoo)
• “Owl” be Seeing You: Amazing Facts About Owl Eyes (abcbirds.org/news/owl-be-seeing-you-amazing-fa…) (The American Bird Conservancy)
• The Silent Flight of Owls, Explained (audubon.org/magazine/silent-flight-of-owls-exp…) (Audubon Magazine)
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