Christmas Island Hawk-Owl
Encyclopedia
The Christmas Boobook also known as the Christmas Island Hawk-Owl, is a species of owl
in the Strigidae family. It is endemic to Christmas Island
. Its natural habitat
s are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest
s and subtropical or tropical moist shrubland
. It is threatened by habitat loss. It was discovered in 2006 by Forbes.
The Christmas Boobook is a reddish coloured owl and is closely related to the hawk owls of South-east Asia and Australia.
The species only occurs on Christmas Island and the population is estimated to be around 1000 owls, with 560 breeding pairs. (Credit Richard Hill.) Not until 1998 was the Christmas Island Hawk-owl considered a separate species from other owls.
Owl
Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish...
in the Strigidae family. It is endemic to Christmas Island
Christmas Island
The Territory of Christmas Island is a territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean. It is located northwest of the Western Australian city of Perth, south of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, and ENE of the Cocos Islands....
. Its natural habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
s are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
s and subtropical or tropical moist shrubland
Shrubland
Shrubland, scrubland, scrub or brush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity...
. It is threatened by habitat loss. It was discovered in 2006 by Forbes.
The Christmas Boobook is a reddish coloured owl and is closely related to the hawk owls of South-east Asia and Australia.
The species only occurs on Christmas Island and the population is estimated to be around 1000 owls, with 560 breeding pairs. (Credit Richard Hill.) Not until 1998 was the Christmas Island Hawk-owl considered a separate species from other owls.