Brown Boobook

Subspecies burmanica
Photo by cskhaw
Pedu Lake, Kedah State, Northern Malaysian Peninsula, November 2004

Ninox scutulata

Includes Chocolate Boobook; Northern Boobook

Identification

27 - 33cm. A medium sized owl which resembles a hawk with its long tail and wings. Face dark with a small white patch between the yellow eyes. Plumage dark brown, barred tail, buffish-white to uniform dark belly, according to subspecies. Sexes similar, but male smaller than female.
Told from other Ninox Owls by lack of white spots on back and dark head.

Distribution

Asia. From southeast Siberia over Manchuria, Korea, Japan, east and south China to Indochina (Burma, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia), Malaysia, Borneo, Sumatra, the Philippines and Java. Also in India and Sri Lanka.

A record of a dead bird in Australia.

Taxonomy

Subspecies japonica
Photo by Akiyo
Kagoshima, Japan, July 2004

Subspecies^[1]

This is a polytypic species consisting of 9 - 12 subspecies.

Two subspecies are sometimes considered full species, Northern Boobook (Ninox japonica with subspecies totogo) and Chocolate Boobook (Ninox randi).

• N. s. lugubris:

• Northern India to western Assam and central peninsular India

• N. s. hirsuta:

• Southern India and Sri Lanka

• N. s. obscura:

• Andaman Islands and Nicobar Islands

• N. s. burmanica:

• Eastern Assam to southern Yunnan, northern Malay Peninsula, Thailand and Indochina

• N. s. palawanensis:

• Palawan (south-western Philippines)

Subspecies obscura
Photo by James Eaton
Wandoor, South Andaman, Andaman Islands, India, December 2007

• N. s. scutulata:

• Southern Malay Peninsula, Riau Archipelago, Sumatra and Bangka Island

• N. s. javanensis:

• Western Java

• N. s. borneensis:

• Borneo and North Natuna Islands
  

Northern Boobook

• Ninox japonica: (south-eastern Siberia to south-eastern Manchuria, eastern China, Korea and Japan; winters southern Asia
• N.j. totogo: Ryukyu Islands and Taiwan
  

Chocolate Boobook

• Ninox randi: Philippine Islands, Sulu Archipelago and Talaud Archipelado

Taxonomy of this species needs further study.

Habitat

Forest. Wide variety of different forest types troughout range (e.g. rainforest, deciduous, evergreen, coniferous forest, even plantations, parks and suburbs.

Behavior

Northern races are migrating from Siberia, China, Korea and Japan south to Malaysia and Indonesia. Southern races don't migrate.
Nocturnal. Roosts by day singly or in pairs in thick canopy.

Diet

Feeds mainly on insects (dragonflies, moths), catched in the air. Takes also crabs, lizards, amphibians, small birds, small mammals (including bats). Hunts in clearings, forest egdes or cultivated area.

Breeding

Nests in a tree hole. Lays 2 - 5 eggs.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Brown Boobook. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 29 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Brown_Boobook

External Links

Search for photos of Brown Boobook in the gallery