![]() Although their main hunting technique is perch-and-pounce, they are agile birds with a swift, goshawk-like wing action they are able to maneuver rapidly when pursuing prey or hawking for insects. On dark nights, they often perch through the middle hours, and particularly if the weather is bad, may hunt by daylight, instead. The main hunting times are evenings and mornings, with brief bursts of activity through the night. During the day, moreporks retire to roosts in secluded spots in the foliage of trees. They are generally nocturnal, though they may sometimes be active at dawn and dusk. ![]() They are usually seen singly, in pairs, or in small family groups of an adult pair and up to three young. These birds are sedentary within their range and don't migrate. 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. The morepork feeds on insects and small vertebrates, hunting by pouncing on them from tree perches. It is generally nocturnal, though sometimes active at dawn and dusk, retiring to roost in secluded spots in the foliage of trees. It has dark brown plumage with prominent pale spots, and golden-yellow eyes. 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. Four subspecies of the morepork are recognized, one of which is extinct and another that exists only as a hybrid population. Its name is derived from its two-tone call. 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. The morepork ( Ninox novaeseelandiae ), also called the ruru or Tasmanian spotted owl, is a small brown owl found throughout New Zealand and Tasmania.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |