- Ninox novaeseelandiae
Includes: Spotted Boobook
Identification
Rich spotted or streaky brown, brown face and golden eyes.
Distribution
New Zealand and Tasmania (see taxonomy).
Taxonomy
This species has previously been considered to be the same species as Southern Boobook from Australia and the Sumba Boobook from Sumba in Indonesia. Clements still lumps Morepork and Southern Boobook.
Three to four subspecies recognized:
- N. n. albaria on Lord Howe Island (Extinct)
- N. n. undulata on Norfolk Island
- N. n. novaeseelandiae in New Zealand and offshore islands
- N. n. leucopsis in Tasmania - recognized by Dickinson as full species, Spotted Boobook (Ninox leucopsis)
Habitat
Forests.
Behaviour
Diet includes insects, bats, small birds, and rats, mice, and lizards.
A nest is made in a tree hole and 2 eggs are laid and incubated for about a month. The young fledge about 5 weeks later.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2015. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2015, with updates to August 2015. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Gill, F and D Donsker (Eds). 2015. IOC World Bird Names (version 5.3). Available at http://www.worldbirdnames.org/.
- Dickinson, EC, ed. 2014. The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. 4th ed. Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0956861122
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Morepork. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 27 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Morepork
