Morepork

(Ninox novaeseelandiae)
Also known as Ruru, New Zealand owl, boobook owl.

Live:Widely distributed in native forests.

Habitat:  Ruru adapts well to parks and gardens in suburban areas and stands of exotic pine forests. They are absent in parts of Canterbury and Otago where the little owl (an introduced species) is present.

Diet:: In the wild: Mostly insects. Will also eat rodents, lizards, spiders and birds.
Zoo diet: Mice and minced chicken daily.
Enclosure cleaned twice weekly.

Breeding: August-December.
Nest: Usually in tree hollows, but also in thick clusters of leaves etc above ground or even burrows in banks.
Eggs: 2 dull white, almost spherical, laid two days apart. Female incubates them for 30 to31days from laying the first egg. The male hunts for them both.

Conservation status: Endemic and protected

General: Size ~to29cm. Female slightly larger than male.
General colour is brown-grey to dusky brown flecked with yellow. The facial disc is not as pronounced as with other owls. May have a white stripe above the eyes or around the neck. Yellow eyes and feet.
Distinct black and white patterning under wings that is noticeable in flight.

Call:'Morepork', 'boobook' and 'ruru' (hence its common names). Has a range of calls.

Habits: A nocturnal bird, these tend to roost in thick foliage during the day. If disturbed, they will glide to another suitable spot. They are territorial and may roost in the same spot each day.

Chicks: Grey-white down. Until the young are feathered, the female stays in the nest during the day and only leaves to hunt at night. Owlets are mainly fed on birds (offered in pieces) and insects. When they are older the food is left whole in the nest. Fledged at around 34 days.

Maori thought of the Ruru as a messenger, possibly an ancestral spirit. A Ruru showing unusual behaviour, such as entering a house or being active during the day, was thought to signify death or the arrival of an important visitor.