Hello all,
I have a question re Southern Boobooks in Victoria, in particular Tasmanian Boobooks in Victoria.
In Victoria the Southern Boobook is represented by the subspecies Ninox novaeseelandiae boobook, while in Tasmania it is represented by the subspecies N. n. leucops. The Victorian Boobooks have been described as being mostly streaked on the chest and with the iris of the eyes being greyish-green. Note that there is a considerable degree of variation in Boobooks on the mainland which could certainly cause some confusion.
In Tasmania, boobooks are generally darker more uniform chocolate brown, with a brown underneath with white spots under and also spots on the wings. The iris of the eyes is bright yellow. They are also considerably smaller in size (contra Bergmanns Rule). You can see some photos of Boobooks from Tasmania and New South Wales on my website, see below (or you can just go to www.wildlifing.smugmug.com and follow the relevant links):
http://wildlifing.smugmug.com/Australasian-Wildlife/Birds/Hawk-Owls-STRIGIDAE/7570230_HYery#491469068_2Bdm3 Just copy and paste the address above into a browser.
My experience so far has made me feel that Tasmanian Boobooks look quite distinctive although I haven’t compared any museum specimens at this stage. There have been some reports in the past of Tasmanian Boobooks regularly migrating to the mainland, mostly Victoria but occasionally New South Wales as well. Mees (1964), reported on it quite matter-of-factly in his review of Australian owls. He mostly dealt with museum specimens, most of which were in overseas museums, but classified a reasonable number of owls in Vic as having come from Tas. He even identified an owl specimen collected in Sydney as a Tasmanian Boobook. He also referred to an owl having been collected 50 km offshore of Tasmania near the Hunter Islands. Lawrie Conole reports having seen some owls in the 1980’s in the Otways with yellow eyes.
If Tasmanian Boobooks do migrate regularly to the Australian mainland I believe this would make them the only owl migrant in Australia. Note that there are a number of owl species that regularly migrate in North America. Note also the regular migration of other bird species between Tas and the mainland including Silvereye, Grey Fantail, Satin Flycatcher, Blue-winged Parrot, not to mention the breeding endemics like the Swift Parrot, Orange-bellied Parrot.
So my question is: Can anybody else tell me whether they have seen what they believe to be Tasmanian Boobooks in Victoria (or NSW for that matter), and if so can you tell me how they were identified?
Cheers
Mick Todd
References:
Mees, G.F. (1964) A revision of the Australian Owls (Strigidae and Tytonidae), Zoologische Verhandelingen, 65 i: Supp p 1-62.
They certainly look different to Boobooks I have seen on the mainland. More like a very small Powerful Owl. Thanks for the interesting pictures.
Michael Ramsey
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I found a dead one in Altona, and Rory O’Brien from Museum Victoria identified it as Tasmanian, mainly from the spotted front I think, perhaps size too, although he only had a photo.
I think its eyes were yellow, but I vaguely recall that he said there was some overlap with eye colour.
Peter Shute
Mick,
Very interesting. I will certainly keep my eyes open in future and let you know and hopefully provide pix if I see any unusual SBs in future.
Cheers,
Carl Cliffoed
Hello all,
I have a question re Southern Boobooks in Victoria, in particular Tasmanian Boobooks in Victoria.
In Victoria the Southern Boobook is represented by the subspecies Ninox novaeseelandiae boobook, while in Tasmania it is represented by the subspecies N. n. leucops. The Victorian Boobooks have been described as being mostly streaked on the chest and with the iris of the eyes being greyish-green. Note that there is a considerable degree of variation in Boobooks on the mainland which could certainly cause some confusion.
In Tasmania, boobooks are generally darker more uniform chocolate brown, with a brown underneath with white spots under and also spots on the wings. The iris of the eyes is bright yellow. They are also considerably smaller in size (contra Bergmanns Rule). You can see some photos of Boobooks from Tasmania and New South Wales on my website, see below (or you can just go to http://www.wildlifing.smugmug.com and follow the relevant links):
http://wildlifing.smugmug.com/Australasian-Wildlife/Birds/Hawk-Owls-STRIGIDAE/7570230_HYery#491469068_2Bdm3 Just copy and paste the address above into a browser.
My experience so far has made me feel that Tasmanian Boobooks look quite distinctive although I haven’t compared any museum specimens at this stage. There have been some reports in the past of Tasmanian Boobooks regularly migrating to the mainland, mostly Victoria but occasionally New South Wales as well. Mees (1964), reported on it quite matter-of-factly in his review of Australian owls. He mostly dealt with museum specimens, most of which were in overseas museums, but classified a reasonable number of owls in Vic as having come from Tas. He even identified an owl specimen collected in Sydney as a Tasmanian Boobook. He also referred to an owl having been collected 50 km offshore of Tasmania near the Hunter Islands. Lawrie Conole reports having seen some owls in the 1980’s in the Otways with yellow eyes.
If Tasmanian Boobooks do migrate regularly to the Australian mainland I believe this would make them the only owl migrant in Australia. Note that there are a number of owl species that regularly migrate in North America. Note also the regular migration of other bird species between Tas and the mainland including Silvereye, Grey Fantail, Satin Flycatcher, Blue-winged Parrot, not to mention the breeding endemics like the Swift Parrot, Orange-bellied Parrot.
So my question is: Can anybody else tell me whether they have seen what they believe to be Tasmanian Boobooks in Victoria (or NSW for that matter), and if so can you tell me how they were identified?
Cheers
Mick Todd
References:
Mees, G.F. (1964) A revision of the Australian Owls (Strigidae and Tytonidae), Zoologische Verhandelingen, 65 i: Supp p 1-62.