New Zealand Cuckoo Owl
| New Zealand Cuckoo Owl | ||||||||||
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New Zealand cuckoo owl ( Ninox novaeseelandiae ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Ninox novaeseelandiae | ||||||||||
| ( Gmelin , 1788) |
The New Zealand morepork ( Ninox novaeseelandiae ) is a species of owl of the genus of Buschkäuze who long considered conspecific with the Boobookkauz ( Ninox boobook was considered). The New Zealand cuckoo owl is endemic to New Zealand .
features
The New Zealand cuckoo owl, 26 to 29 centimeters long and 150 to 216 grams, forms several morphs . The upper side is usually dark brown with ocher-brown spots and stripes on the head, neck and coat. The reddish-brown underside has white spots and bands. The large eyes are colored bright yellow. The beak is dark with a light tip. The legs are feathered yellow to reddish brown, the yellow to brownish yellow toes have dark brown to blackish claws.
The allopatric boobook owl from mainland Australia has bright yellowish green eyes.
Way of life
It inhabits forests and plantations up to the tree line and also appears in parks and on farms, as well as on many islands off the coast. The food mainly consists of insects, but small birds, lizards, rats, bats and mice are also preyed on. The voice is a melancholy sounding chant ru-ru or quor-quo that is repeated at intervals of several seconds.
Occurrence
The New Zealand cuckoo owl is New Zealand's only surviving owl. The nominate form N. n. Novaeseelandiae lives there . The light brown subspecies Lord Howe cuckoo owl ( N. n. Albaria ) of Lord Howe Island is extinct. The last female of the not-so-bright subspecies Norfolk Island Cuckoo Owl ( N. n. Undulata ) on Norfolk Island bred at least four hybrids with an introduced male of the nominate form from 1989 to 1990. The resulting population is called N. n. Undulata x novaeseelandiae .
literature
- Heimo Mikkola: Handbook owls of the world. All 249 species in 750 color photos. Original title: Owls of the World. A photographic guide. 2012, German-language edition, Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co.KG, Stuttgart 2013, ISBN 978-3-440-13275-3 , p. 452.