Southern Boobook Owl in Beechworth

Southern Boobook Owl in Beechworth The Southern Boobook (Ninox novaeseelandiae) Owl is often found around the Beechworth area. It is a small brown owl found in the temperate parts of Australia and more commonly in New Zealand. It is also known colloquially as the , also called the Mopoke or Morepork. The Southern Boobook is the smallest of the owls in Australia.

The name Boobook is used by the Eora Australian Aboriginal tribe, who were the original inhabitants of the Sydney region. The boobook which lives in Australia was originally believed to be the same species as the New Zealand Morepork (ruru) but recent research has suggested that the Australian species is slightly larger than the New Zealand version.

The Southern Boobook is found in most areas with plenty of trees including deep tropical forests to isolated stands at the edges of arid zones, farmland, or alpine grasslands, but is most common in temperate woodland.

When spotted Southern Boobooks are in pairs or small family groups comprised of an adult pair and up to three young. They are predominantly nocturnal, but are sometimes active at dawn and dusk. Their main hunting times are evenings and mornings, with brief bursts of activity through the night.

Their main hunting technique is ‘perch-and-pounce’. They are agile birds with a swift, goshawk-like wing action and the ability to manoeuvre rapidly when pursuing prey or hawking for insects. Almost any suitably sized prey is taken, particularly small birds, mammals and large insects such as moths and grasshoppers.