Morepork
The morepork (Ninox novaeseelandiae), also called the mopoke or the ruru, is a small brown owl found in New Zealand, Norfolk Island and formerly Lord Howe Island. 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. Three subspecies of the morepork are recognized, one of which is extinct and another that exists only as a hybrid population.
| Morepork | |
|---|---|
| Morepork in New Zealand | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Strigiformes |
| Family: | Strigidae |
| Genus: | Ninox |
| Species: | N. novaeseelandiae |
| Binomial name | |
| Ninox novaeseelandiae (Gmelin, JF, 1788) | |
| Subspecies | |
|
2 extant, 1 extinct (see text) | |
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. It was also considered the same species as the Tasmanian boobook of Tasmania until 2022.
It has dark brown plumage with prominent pale spots, and golden-yellow eyes. It is generally nocturnal, though sometimes active at dawn and dusk, retiring to roost in secluded spots in the foliage of trees. The morepork feeds on insects and small vertebrates, hunting by pouncing on them from tree perches. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed the morepork as being of least concern on account of its large range and apparently stable population.