Lord Howe boobook

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Lord Howe boobook
Lord Howe Boobook.JPG
Illustration by Henrik Grönvold
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Strigiformes
Family: Strigidae
Genus: Ninox
Species:
Subspecies:
N. n. albaria
Trinomial name
Ninox novaeseelandiae albaria
(Ramsay, 1888) [1]
Synonyms
  • Ninox albaria
  • Spiloglaux novae-seelandiae albaria

The Lord Howe boobook (Ninox novaeseelandiae albaria), also known as the Lord Howe morepork, was a bird in the true owl family endemic to Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea, part of New South Wales, Australia. It is an extinct and little-known subspecies of the morepork (Ninox novaeseelandiae).

Contents

Description

The Lord Howe boobook was similar in appearance to other subspecies of the morepork, being a small, brown hawk owl with white-mottled plumage, paler than other subspecies. [2] Measurements taken from museum specimens indicate that it was smaller than most mainland Australian subspecies of boobook but larger than both the New Zealand and Norfolk Island subspecies. [3]

Distribution and habitat

The Lord Howe boobook was restricted to Lord Howe Island where it inhabited the native forests as well as occurring around the settlements. [4]

Status and conservation

Exactly when the Lord Howe boobook became extinct is uncertain. Boobook calls were apparently heard on the island until the 1950s, but during the 1920s boobooks from near Sydney in eastern Australia had been introduced, along with barn owls and masked owls, in an unsuccessful effort to control the black rats that had overrun the island. The rats had been accidentally introduced in June 1918 with the grounding of the steamship SS Makambo, and several of Lord Howe's endemic birds disappeared during the next few years. The endemic boobook may have been extirpated by rat predation, owl predation or owl competition, and the calls heard until the 1950s may have come from either the endemic or the introduced boobook subspecies, or both. [5] [6]

Specimens of the Lord Howe boobook are held in the Australian Museum.

Related Research Articles

Morepork Species of owl

The morepork, 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.

Lord Howe may refer to:

Laughing owl Extinct species of owl

The laughing owl, also known as whēkau or the white-faced owl, was an endemic owl of New Zealand. Plentiful when European settlers arrived in New Zealand, its scientific description was published in 1845, but it was largely or completely extinct by 1914. The species was traditionally considered to belong to the monotypic genus SceloglauxKaup, 1848, although recent genetic studies indicate that it belongs with the boobook owls in the genus Ninox.

Australian boobook Species of owl

The Australian boobook, which is known in some regions as the mopoke, is a species of owl native to mainland Australia, southern New Guinea, the island of Timor, and the Sunda Islands. Described by John Latham in 1801, it was generally considered to be the same species as the morepork of New Zealand until 1999. Its name is derived from its two-tone boo-book call. Eight subspecies of the Australian boobook are recognized, with three further subspecies being reclassified as separate species in 2019 due to their distinctive calls and genetics.

<i>Ninox</i> Genus of birds

Ninox is a genus of true owls comprising about 35 species found in Asia and Australasia. Many species are known as hawk-owls or boobooks, but the northern hawk-owl is not a member of this genus.

Australian masked owl Species of owl

The Australian masked owl is a barn owl of Southern New Guinea and the non-desert areas of Australia.

<i>Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds</i>

The Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds, known as HANZAB, is the pre-eminent scientific reference on birds in the region, which includes Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica, and the surrounding ocean and subantarctic islands. It attempts to collate all that is known about each of the 957 species recorded.

Norfolk parakeet Species of bird

The Norfolk parakeet, also called Tasman parakeet, Norfolk Island green parrot or Norfolk Island red-crowned parakeet, is a species of parrot in the family Psittaculidae. It is endemic to Norfolk Island.

Tasmanian masked owl Subspecies of bird

The Tasmanian masked owl is a bird in the barn owl family Tytonidae that is endemic to the island state of Tasmania, Australia. It is the largest subspecies of the Australian masked owl, the largest Tyto owl in the world, and is sometimes considered a full species. The subspecific name castanops, meaning "chestnut-faced", comes from the colouring of the facial disc. It was first described by John Gould, who wrote about it in his Handbook to the Birds of Australia as:

"…a species distinguished from all the other members of its genus by its great size and powerful form. Probably few of the Raptorial birds, with the exception of the Eagles, are more formidable or more sanguinary in disposition."

"Forests of large but thinly scattered trees, skirting plains and open districts, constitute its natural habitat. Strictly nocturnal in its habits, as night approaches it sallies forth from the hollows of the large gum-trees, and flaps slowly and noiselessly over the plains and swamps in search of its prey, which consists of rats and small quadrupeds generally."

Norfolk boobook Extinct subspecies of bird

The Norfolk boobook, also known as the Norfolk Island boobook, Norfolk Island owl or Norfolk Island morepork, was a bird in the true owl family endemic to Norfolk Island, an Australian territory in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand. It is an extinct subspecies of the morepork. However, although the taxon is extinct, its genes live on in the descendants of the hybrid offspring of the last female bird, which was sighted for the last time in 1996.

Norfolk triller Extinct subspecies of bird

The Norfolk triller was a small passerine bird in the cuckooshrike family, Campephagidae. It is the extinct nominate subspecies of the long-tailed triller which was endemic to Norfolk Island, an Australian territory in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand. Little is known of its biology.

SS <i>Makambo</i>

SS Makambo was a steamship first owned by Burns Philp & Co. Ltd. She was built in Port Glasgow in Scotland and named after an island in the Solomon Islands. She carried both passengers and cargo and was principally used on routes between eastern Australia and islands in Melanesia and the Tasman Sea. In November 1908 Jack and Charmian London travelled from Guadalcanal to Sydney on the Makambo after abandoning their ill-fated circumnavigation of the world on the Snark, a 45' sailing yawl.

Lord Howe fantail Extinct subspecies of bird

The Lord Howe fantail, also known as the Lord Howe Island fantail or fawn-breasted fantail, was a small bird in the fantail family, Rhipiduridae. It is an extinct subspecies of the New Zealand fantail. It was endemic to Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea, part of New South Wales, Australia.

Lord Howe parakeet Extinct species of bird

The Lord Howe parakeet, also known as the Lord Howe red-fronted parakeet, is an extinct parrot endemic to Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea, part of New South Wales, Australia. It was described as full species by Tommaso Salvadori in 1891, but subsequently it has been regarded as subspecies of the red-crowned parakeet. In 2012, the IOC World Bird List recognised it as species.

The Christmas Island swiftlet, also known as the Christmas glossy swiftlet or the Christmas cave swiftlet, is a small bird in the swift family Apodidae. It is endemic to Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the eastern Indian Ocean. It was formerly commonly treated as a subspecies of the glossy swiftlet.

Kermadec red-crowned parakeet Subspecies of bird

The Kermadec red-crowned parakeet, also known as the Kermadec red-fronted parakeet or Kermadec parakeet, is a parrot endemic to New Zealand's Kermadec Islands in the south-west Pacific Ocean. It is a subspecies of the red-fronted parakeet, and sometimes considered a full species. It is also the first documented example of a parrot recolonising an island after the removal of invasive predators.

Ninox boobook ocellata is a subspecies of the Australian boobook, which is also widely known as the southern boobook. The southern boobook is the most common and smallest owl on the Australian mainland.

The Rote boobook is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is endemic to Rote Island in the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia.

The Timor boobook is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found on Timor, Roma, Leti and Semau Islands in the eastern Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia.

References

  1. Ramsay, E.P. (1888). Tabular List of all the Australian Birds at present known to the author, showing the Distribution of the Species over the continent of Australia and adjacent islands. Sydney.
  2. Higgins, P.J. (ed). (1999). Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds. Volume 4: Parrots to Dollarbird. Oxford University Press: Melbourne. ISBN   0-19-553071-3, p.873.
  3. Higgins, P.J. (ed). (1999). Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds. Volume 4: Parrots to Dollarbird. Oxford University Press: Melbourne. ISBN   0-19-553071-3 p.870.
  4. Etheridge, R. (31 December 1889). "The general zoology of Lord Howe Island; containing also an account of the collections made by the Australian Museum Collecting Party, Aug.–Sept., 1887" (PDF). Australian Museum Memoir. 2 (1): 1–42. doi:10.3853/j.0067-1967.2.1889.479 . Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  5. Garnett, Stephen T.; & Crowley, Gabriel M. (2000). The Action Plan for Australian Birds 2000. Environment Australia: Canberra. ISBN   0-642-54683-5 , p.366.
  6. Hindwood, K.A. (1940). The Birds of Lord Howe Island. Emu40: 1-86., p.62.