Morepork / Neuseeland-Kuckuckskauz (Ninox novaeseelandiae)

Observations

🔍 No documented observation

Description

Classification: Genus Ninox (Ninox); Family Strigidae (Strigidae)
General:

The morepork (Ninox novaeseelandiae), also called the ruru or Tasmanian spotted owl, is a small brown owl found throughout New Zealand and Tasmania. Described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1788, it was for many years considered to be the same species as the Australian boobook of mainland Australia until 1999. Its name is derived from its two-tone call. Four subspecies of the morepork are recognized, one of which is extinct and another that exists only as a hybrid population. The bird has almost 20 alternative common names, including mopoke and boobook—many of these names are onomatopoeic, as they emulate the bird's distinctive two-pitched call.^[2] [more]