Lord Howe Boobook
Encyclopedia
The Lord Howe Boobook also known as the Lord Howe Morepork, was a bird in the true owl family endemic to Lord Howe Island
in the Tasman Sea
, part of New South Wales
, Australia
. It is an extinct
and little-known subspecies
of the Southern Boobook
(Ninox novaeseelandiae).
of the Southern Boobook, being a small brown hawk owl
with white-mottled plumage, paler than other subspecies. Measurements taken from museum specimen
s indicate that it was smaller than most mainland Australian subspecies of boobook but larger than both the New Zealand and Norfolk Island subspecies.
and Masked Owl
s, in an unsuccessful effort to control the Black Rat
s that had overrun the island. The rats had been accidentally introduced in June 1918 with the grounding of the steamship SS Makambo
, and several of Lord Howe’s endemic birds disappeared during the next few years. The endemic boobook may have been extirpated by rat predation, owl predation or owl competition, and the calls heard until the 1950s may have come from either the endemic or the introduced boobook subspecies, or both.
There are specimens of the Lord Howe Boobook in the Australian Museum
.
Lord Howe Island
Lord Howe Island is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, directly east of mainland Port Macquarie, and about from Norfolk Island. The island is about 11 km long and between 2.8 km and 0.6 km wide with an area of...
in the Tasman Sea
Tasman Sea
The Tasman Sea is the large body of water between Australia and New Zealand, approximately across. It extends 2,800 km from north to south. It is a south-western segment of the South Pacific Ocean. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, the first recorded European...
, part of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It is an extinct
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
and little-known subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
of the Southern Boobook
Southern Boobook
The Southern Boobook , also called the Mopoke, Morepork, Ruru or Tasmanian Spotted Owl, is a small brown owl found throughout New Zealand, Tasmania, across most of mainland Australia and in Timor, southern New Guinea and nearby islands.The bird has almost 20 alternative common names, most of which...
(Ninox novaeseelandiae).
Description
The Lord Howe Boobook was similar in appearance to other subspeciesSubspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
of the Southern Boobook, being a small brown hawk owl
Ninox
Ninox is a genus of owls comprising about 20 species found in Asia and Australasia. Many species are known as hawk owls or boobooks...
with white-mottled plumage, paler than other subspecies. Measurements taken from museum specimen
Specimen
A specimen is a portion/quantity of material for use in testing, examination, or study.BiologyA laboratory specimen is an individual animal, part of an animal, a plant, part of a plant, or a microorganism, used as a representative to study the properties of the whole population of that species or...
s indicate that it was smaller than most mainland Australian subspecies of boobook but larger than both the New Zealand and Norfolk Island subspecies.
Distribution and habitat
The Lord Howe Boobook was restricted to Lord Howe Island where it inhabited the native forests as well as occurring around the settlements.Status and conservation
Exactly when the Lord Howe Boobook became extinct is uncertain. Boobook calls were apparently heard on the island until the 1950s, but during the 1920s boobooks from near Sydney in eastern Australia had been introduced, along with BarnBarn Owl
The Barn Owl is the most widely distributed species of owl, and one of the most widespread of all birds. It is also referred to as Common Barn Owl, to distinguish it from other species in the barn-owl family Tytonidae. These form one of two main lineages of living owls, the other being the typical...
and Masked Owl
Masked Owl
The Australian Masked Owl is a barn owl of Southern New Guinea and the non-desert areas of Australia.-Taxonomy:Described subspecies of Tyto novaehollandiae include:* T. n. calabyi I.J. Mason, 1983,...
s, in an unsuccessful effort to control the Black Rat
Black Rat
The black rat is a common long-tailed rodent of the genus Rattus in the subfamily Murinae . The species originated in tropical Asia and spread through the Near East in Roman times before reaching Europe by the 1st century and spreading with Europeans across the world.-Taxonomy:The black rat was...
s that had overrun the island. The rats had been accidentally introduced in June 1918 with the grounding of the steamship SS Makambo
SS Makambo
The SS Makambo was a steamship first owned by Burns Philp & Co. Ltd. She was built in Port Glasgow and named after an island in the Solomon Islands. She carried both passengers and cargo and was principally used on routes between eastern Australia and islands in Melanesia and the Tasman Sea...
, and several of Lord Howe’s endemic birds disappeared during the next few years. The endemic boobook may have been extirpated by rat predation, owl predation or owl competition, and the calls heard until the 1950s may have come from either the endemic or the introduced boobook subspecies, or both.
There are specimens of the Lord Howe Boobook in the Australian Museum
Australian Museum
The Australian Museum is the oldest museum in Australia, with an international reputation in the fields of natural history and anthropology. It features collections of vertebrate and invertebrate zoology, as well as mineralogy, palaeontology, and anthropology...
.