Australian boobook

Australian boobook
Subspecies boobook, New South Wales
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Strigiformes
Family:	Strigidae
Genus:	Ninox
Species:	N. boobook
Binomial name
Ninox boobook (Latham, 1801)
Subspecies
11, see text
Distribution of Ninox boobook subspecies, including 3 related species   N.b.boobook   N.b.ocellata   N.b.halmaturina   N.b.lurida   N. fusca   N.b.pusilla   N. plesseni   N. rotiensis   N.b.moae   N.b.cinnamomina
Synonyms[3][4]
Strix boobook Latham, 1801 Athene marmorata Gould, 1846 Athene ocellata Bonaparte, 1850 Ieraglaux (Spiloglaux) bubuk Kaup, 1852 Strix novaehollandiae Strickland, 1855 Ninox boobook mixta Mathews, 1912 Ninox boobook melvillensis Mathews, 1912 Ninox boobook macgillivrayi Mathews, 1912 Spiloglaux boobook tregellasi Mathews, 1913 Spiloglaux novaeseelandiae everardi Mathews, 1913 Ninox yorki Cayley, 1929 Ninox ooldeaensis Cayley, 1929 Ninox novaeseelandiae aridaMayr, 1943 Spiloglaux boobook parocellataMathews, 1946

The Australian boobook (Ninox boobook), is a species of owl native to mainland Australia, southern New Guinea, the island of Timor, and the Sunda Islands. Described by John Latham in 1801, it was generally considered to be the same species as the morepork of New Zealand until 1999. Its name is derived from its two-tone boo-book call. Eight subspecies of the Australian boobook are recognized, with three further subspecies being reclassified as separate species in 2019 due to their distinctive calls and genetics.

The smallest owl on the Australian mainland, the Australian boobook is 27 to 36 cm (10.5 to 14 in) long, with predominantly dark-brown plumage with prominent pale spots. It has grey-green or yellow-green eyes. It is generally nocturnal, though sometimes it is active at dawn and dusk, retiring to roost in secluded spots in the foliage of trees. The Australian boobook feeds on insects and small vertebrates, hunting by pouncing on them from tree perches. Breeding takes place from late winter to early summer, using tree hollows as nesting sites. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed the Australian boobook as being of least concern on account of its large range and apparently stable population.