Tasmanian Boobook
Calls & Sounds
Tasmanian Boobook (Ninox leucopsis)
The Tasmanian Boobook (Ninox leucopsis) is a small species of hawk owl endemic to Tasmania. It is closely related to the Australian Boobook (Ninox boobook) found in mainland Australia, the main differences being the Tasmanian Boobook is generally smaller, darker and with more extensive spotting. The vocalizations are also slightly different. This taxa was previously considered a subspecies of Morepork (Ninox novaeseelandiae) but is now regarded as its own distinct species. All three of these species are also coloquially known as the ‘mopoke’.
What does a Tasmanian Boobook sound like? The calls of the Tasmanian Boobook are quite similar to those of the Australian Boobook (Ninox boobook) but they sound ‘coarser’ and more frog-like, and are generally higher-pitched and faster in tempo.
Listen to Tasmanian Boobook Sounds
The audio in the video below features typical song phrases of the Tasmanian Boobook. Recorded in the Leven River valley, Tasmania. If you listen carefully, in the background you can hear a Tasmanian Devil snuffling around and feeding!
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Other Night Sounds
Other species you might hear at night in the Australian bush:
Mammals
- Bandicoot, Long-nosed
- Devil, Tasmanian
- Flying Foxes
- Glider, Squirrel
- Glider, Sugar
- Glider, Yellow-bellied
- Kangaroo
- Koala
- Pademelons
- Possum, Common Brushtail
- Possum, Common Ringtail
- Possum, Short-eared Brushtail
- Wombat
Birds
Watercolour painting of a Southern Boobook by ‘The Sydney Bird Painter’. This pre-1800 painting is held by the National Gallery of Victoria.