New Ireland boobook

The New Ireland boobook (Ninox variegata) also known as the Bismarck hawk owl or Bismarck boobook, is a small to medium-sized owl measuring 25 to 30 cm (9.8 to 11.8 in) in length.[3] It is a dark rufous-brown above, with barred scapular feathers and variable amounts of spotting or barring on the wings and tail. Its underparts are whitish, with an unmarked pale throat, a dark barred upper breast and barring on the remainder of the underparts. Its face is dark brown, its eyes are brown or yellow, and its bill and legs are yellow.[4] It is short-tailed and has heavy tarsi (the part of the leg above what is commonly referred to as the foot).[5]

New Ireland boobook
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Strigiformes
Family: Strigidae
Genus: Ninox
Species:
N. variegata
Binomial name
Ninox variegata
(Quoy & Gaimard, 1830)
Synonyms

Noctua variegata (Quoy and Gaimard, 1830)[2]
Ninox solomonis (Sharpe, 1876)[3]

Endemic to the Bismarck archipelago, it occurs on the islands of New Britain, New Ireland and New Hanover,[2] where it lives in forested lowlands, hills and mountains, up to an altitude of 1,000 m (3,300 ft).[3]

It was first described as Noctua variegata by French naturalists Jean René Constant Quoy and Joseph Paul Gaimard in 1830.[2]

Although its population size has not been quantified, it is widespread and fairly common in forest and forest edges within its range, and its numbers are thought to be stable.[6] Deforestation is thought to be a likely threat to the species.[7]

References
  1. BirdLife International (2012). "Ninox variegata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  2. Sibley, Charles Gald; Monroe, Burt Leavelle (1990). Distribution and taxonomy of birds of the world. New Haven, CT: Yale University. p. 182. ISBN 0-300-04969-2.
  3. Weick, Friedhelm (2002). Owls (Strigiformes): Annotated and Illustrated Checklist. Springer. p. 228. ISBN 3-540-35234-1.
  4. König, Claus; Weick, Friedhelm; Becking, J. H (1999). Owls: A Guide to the Owls of the World. Ithaca, NY: Pica Press. p. 184. ISBN 1408108844.
  5. Rasmussen, Pamela C (December 1999). "A New Species of Hawk-owl Ninox from North Sulawesi, Indonesia" (PDF). The Wilson Bulletin. 111 (4): 457–464.
  6. "Bismarck Hawk-owl Ninox variegata". BirdLife International. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
  7. Newton, Ian, ed. (2002). Ecology and conservation of owls. Csiro Publishing. p. 357. ISBN 0-643-06794-9.
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