Lord Howe Boobook

Lord Howe morepork, from The Birds of Australia. Picture of Henrik Grönvold ( 1858-1940 ).

The Lord Howe morepork ( Ninox novaeseelandiae Albaria ) is an extinct subspecies of the New Zealand Kuckuckskauzes. He was endemic to the Lord Howe Island.

Features

The Lord Howe morepork looked very similar to the nominate form. He reached a size of 30 to 35 centimeters. The wing length was in the males 209 to 215 mm and in females 218-222 mm. The overall reddish-brown plumage was getupfert. The head was dull reddish brown with pale white background eyebrows, which extended up to the face veil and an x- shaped mark made ​​. The top was bright reddish-brown, evenly colored like the head and speckled white. The bottom of the pants and the top wings were light reddish brown with small white spots. Head and hind neck showed no spots. At the hidden parts of the rump and upper tail-coverts few white spots were visible. The beak was dark slate gray. The eyes were golden. The legs and feet were greenish yellow.

Way of life

The Lord Howe morepork inhabited forests on Lord Howe Island. About his life and walks there are no records.

Extinction

The exact date of extinction is unknown. After the shipwreck of the SS Makambo in 1918 before the Lord Howe Island broke out on the island, a plague of rats. In the 1920s, several species of owls were introduced to Lord Howe Island to combat the plague, including Kuckuckskäuze from Australia and the Neuhollandeule. The Lord Howe morepork was probably never very common. He dropped both of predation by rats and the competition with the imported owl prey. In the 1950s was the last time morepork calls heard on Lord Howe Island, but could not be accurately determined at what taxon belonged to these calls.