what bird sounds like a cat ?!

[chrissiehope]

Most nights, and sometimes in the day, we hear a noise that sounds like a cat mewing, maybe distressed. We do have the odd campo cat, but it's not quite right somehow, and anyway we've established it definitely flies, as the sound moves too fast at times for it to be a land animal !

I think it might be an owl, but looking on the net I found there are hundreds of types of owl - can anyone narrow it down for me, and possibly point me to a site where I can listen to the call/s ?

TIA

[frank]

About 39-40 secs into this recording, a barn owl, it sounds a bit cat like! anything like it?
http://www.laverdad.es/murcia/multimedi ... 81722.html

[chrissiehope]

Thanks Frank, but not really - it's a very definite 2 'syllables - "mee-ow". and quite high-pitched. I really thought it was a cat for the first couple of days !
For some reason I've thought 'scops owl' but I haven't a clue why....

[gus-lopez]

Could it be a hoopee bird, they call at night ?

[julian]

does the noise sound like this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWM_khN4UL0

[lenox]

It's possibly a fox.

[julian]

[Bongtrees]

It's possibly a fox.

Foxes bark and AFAIK there are not that many in Spain as most are shot.

I have met Spanish people who have never seen a live one.

[annfoto]

Little Owls are very common in these parts. We have one who sits on the power line and sometimes the calls are a bit cat like

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdgui ... index.aspx

[julian]

"Foxes bark and AFAIK there are not that many in Spain as most are shot.
I have met Spanish people who have never seen a live one"......there are even less Spanish people who have seen a flying one !!!

[chrissiehope]

Hooray - annfoto wins the prize - it is indeed a little owl

There must be a colony of them somewhere around cos we hear them 'talking' to one another

julian - no, but it was very funny