Boobook owl. Credit: cskk

Young boobooks are almost entirely white below with conspicuous dark brown facial discs. The adult has dark brown plumage above and rufous-brown below, heavily streaked and spotted with white and it has large yellowish eyes.

Where

You are most likely to hear rather than see the boobook. If you are camping at Booderee, boobooks can be heard in any of the park’s campsite areas. Sometimes known as the mopoke, it is the smallest and most common owl in Australia.

Feeding

Boobooks feed on insects, other invertebrates and small mammals such as mice. They hunt mainly at night but you may see them searching for food on a dull morning or late afternoon. Look for these owls sitting on a perch, listening and watching - and then flying to seize a moth or a small bat in mid-air or pouncing on ground-dwelling prey.

Breeding

Like most owls, the boobooks nest in tree hollows. Breeding pairs are known to produce two to three white eggs each season. The female alone incubates the eggs, but both sexes, and sometimes a second female helper, feed the young.

Sounds

Its common names comes from its night time calls - mo-poke or book-book.