Australian Boobook
A species of Asian and Australasian Hawk-owls and Boobooks Scientific name : Ninox boobook Genus : Asian and Australasian Hawk-owls and Boobooks
Australian Boobook, A species of Asian and Australasian Hawk-owls and Boobooks
Botanical name: Ninox boobook
Genus: Asian and Australasian Hawk-owls and Boobooks
Content
Description General Info
Description
The smallest owl on the Australian mainland, the Australian boobook is 27 to 36 cm (10.5 to 14 in) long. The nominate subspecies is the largest. It has short, rounded wings and a short tail, with a compact silhouette in flight. Australian boobooks on the Australian mainland follow Bergmann's rule, in that birds from cooler and more southerly parts of the range tend to be larger. Thus, birds from the Canberra region weigh around 300 g (11 oz) while those from the Cape York Peninsula and Broome are around 200 g (7.1 oz). Females tend to be a little larger and heavier than males, with males weighing 146–360 g (5.1–12.7 oz) and females 170–298 g (6.0–10.5 oz). The Australian boobook has generally dark brown head and upperparts, with white markings on the scapulars and spots on the wings. Its head lacks tufts common in other owls, and has a paler facial disk, with a white supercilium (eyebrow) and dark brown ear coverts and cheeks. The brown feathers of the upper forehead, above the supercilium, and sides of the neck have yellow-brown highlights. The feathers of the lores, chin and throat are white with black shafts. The feathers of the underparts are mostly brown with white spots and dark blue-grey bases. The upper tail is dark brown with lighter brown bars and a grey fringe at the end, while the undertail is a lighter grey-brown. The female tends to be more prominently streaked than the male overall, though this is inconsistent and wide variation is seen. The eyes have been described as grey-green, green-yellow, or even light hazel. The bill is black with a pale blue-grey base and cere. The feet are greyish to pinkish brown with dark grey to blackish claws. The underparts are pale, ranging from buff to cream, and are streaked with brown. The overall colour is variable and does not appear to correspond to subspecies or region. In northern and central Australia, Mayr found that the colour of the plumage appears to correlate with the rainfall or humidity, paler birds being found in three disjunct areas, each around 1,600 kilometres (990 mi) away from the other two: the western Kimberley and Pilbara, Sedan on the Cloncurry River, and around Ooldea, with darker birds found on Cape York and Melville Island. Young Australian boobooks are usually paler than adults, and do not attain adult plumage properly until their third or fourth year. Juveniles (up to a year old) have whitish underparts and foreneck, a larger and more prominent pale eyebrow and larger whitish spots on their upperparts. The tips of their feathers are white and fluffy, remnants of the nestlings' down. These are worn away over time, persisting longest on the head. The feathers of the head, neck and underparts are fluffier overall. Immatures in their second and third year have plumage more like adults, though their crowns are paler and more heavily streaked. 
Size
36 cm
Feeding Habits
Australian Boobook primarily feeds on mice and insects, including beetles and moths. Vertebrates feature more in autumn and winter diets, but invertebrates, while numerous, constitute less biomass. Australian Boobook hunts from perches, capturing larger prey like possums and rabbits in Victoria. It frequents open areas near trees or artificial lights to hunt.
Habitat
Australian Boobook inhabits a broad range of environments, typically favoring areas such as dense forests, woodlands, agricultural lands, and even suburban gardens. These birds are also found in arid regions with sparse trees, scrublands, and at the edges of treeless plains. They tend to occupy regions consisting of monsoon forests and woodlands in more tropical climates. They roost during the day in dense foliage and are rarely seen on the ground or in caves. Australian Boobook can be solitary, paired, or in family groups within these diverse habitats.
Dite type
Carnivorous
General Info
Behavior
The Australian boobook is a mainly nocturnal species, though it may be active at dawn and dusk. It is heard much more commonly than seen, being particularly vocal in breeding season. The characteristic two-note boo-book call or hoot can be heard up to 1 km (0.6 mi) away, the second note generally lower in pitch than the first. Calling takes place from sunset through till dawn, generally with a peak in the two hours after dusk and just before dawn. It can continue for several hours. The male's hooting is higher pitched and of shorter duration, and is heard much more commonly than that of the female. He uses it as a contact call and to advertise his territory to females, as well as when bringing food to his mate or even before mating. Birds give a harsher version of the call when mobbing intruders. Both sexes, though mainly the female, give a single monosyllabic hoot as an alarm call or warning. Australian boobooks also make a repetitive croaking or grunting call while courting, mating, or greeting, or as a response to other boobooks hooting. Birds may switch from croaks to hoots seamlessly. Males generally croak at the beginning of the evening, and when arriving at the nest with food. A purring or braying call is used by both sexes as a contact call around the nest and (more quietly) when bringing food to nestlings, or by the female to beg for food from the male. The female makes a low trill during courtship and nesting. Growls, high-pitched yelps, and screeches can be made when attacking intruders. The Australian boobook maintains and defends a territory in breeding season; whether this continues for the rest of the year is unclear. It retires to densely foliated spots in trees in the daytime, each individual often having several roosting sites. Caves or ledges are alternative roosting sites if no suitable trees are available. Although unobtrusive, it may give itself away by droppings or pellets on the ground beneath. The Australian boobook is mobbed by passerines if discovered. It may allow people to approach to within 1 to 3 m (3.5 to 10 ft). The maximum age recorded from banding has been 15 years 11 months, in a bird caught and later caught again on Black Mountain in the Australian Capital Territory.
Distribution Area
The Australian boobook is found across Australia, although it is scarce in more arid regions such as western New South Wales, southwestern and western Queensland, much of South Australia away from the coast and interior Western Australia and Northern Territory. In drier areas it is generally found along watercourses such as the Darling and Paroo Rivers, and Lake Eyre basin. It is found on numerous offshore islands such as Groote Eylandt, Melville Island, Mornington Island in the Gulf of Carpentaria and many islands off eastern Australia. It is found in southern New Guinea, Timor and surrounding islands in Indonesia. It is found in a wide range of habitats, from forest and open woodland to scrubland and semidesert areas. In Australia, it resides in mainly eucalypt forests. It has adapted to landscapes altered by human activity and is found in farmland and suburban areas as long as some scattered trees are present.
Species Status
A widespread and generally common species, the Australian boobook is listed as being a species of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, on account of its huge range and stable population, with no evidence of any significant decline. Like most species of owl, the Australian boobook is protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora with its placement on the Appendix II list of vulnerable species, which makes the import, export, and trade of listed wild-caught animals illegal. A decline has occurred on the Swan Coastal Plain north of Perth. There, Australian boobook owls are dying after eating the rodents people have killed with second-generation anticoagulant rat poison. Older poisons such as warfarin or coumatetralyl were unlikely to affect owls.
Scientific Classification
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