The least boobook (''Ninox sumbaensis''), also known as the little Sumba hawk-owl or little Sumba boobook, is a species of

owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...

in the family

Strigidae The true owls or typical owls (family (biology), family Strigidae) are one of the two generally accepted families of owls, the other being the barn owls and bay owls (Tytonidae). This large family comprises 230 living or recently extinct species ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

n island of

Sumba Sumba (; ), natively also spelt as Humba, Hubba, Suba, or Zuba (in Sumba languages) is an Indonesian island (part of the Lesser Sunda Archipelago group) located in the Eastern Indonesia and administratively part of the East Nusa Tenggara pro ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

is subtropical or tropical moist lowland

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

s. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

History

In the 1980s ornithologists knew that there was an unknown species of owl on the island of Sumba. A

phylogenetic analysis In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical data ...

undertaken on a sample feather showed that the owl was an unknown species in the genus ''

Ninox ''Ninox'' is a genus of true owls comprising 36 species found in Asia and Australasia. Many species are known as hawk-owls or boobooks, but the northern hawk-owl (''Surnia ulula'') is not a member of this genus. Taxonomy The genus was introduce ...

''. The bird had a characteristic low whistling call "''who''", repeated at four second intervals, which distinguished it from other known species of owl. When this call was recorded and played back on Sumba, there was a response from resident birds. In late 2001 a specimen of the bird was obtained, enabling a detailed description to be made for the first time; it was named ''Ninox sumbaensis'', the least boobook.

Description

The least boobook is about long and weighs . The head is grey with fine dark barring and distinctive white eyebrows but an indistinct facial disc. The beak is large and yellow, the eyes are yellow and there are no eartufts. The upper parts are light brown with widely separated, dark wavy markings and the underparts are whitish with fine dark chevrons. The tail is pale reddish-brown with dark barring. The legs and talons are yellow. This bird is smaller and has relatively longer wings than the

Sumba boobook The Sumba boobook (''Ninox rudolfi'') is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is endemic to Sumba in the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest and subtropical or tropical moist lowl ...

(''Ninox rudolfi'') which also occurs on the island.

Ecology

Little is known about this bird. Several pairs have been observed in primary and secondary forest but not in the surrounding open terrain where the

hunts. The conservation status of this owl is assessed as being "

Endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

" by the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

as it has a small range, a moderately small total population and is likely to be decreasing in abundance because of forest clearance.

References

External links

Owl Pages
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1300381 least boobook Endemic birds of Sumba Owls of Asia lleast boobook Taxonomy articles created by Polbot