Morepork Morepork The morepork ("Ninox novaeseelandiae"), also called the ruru or Tasmanian spotted owl, is a small brown owl found throughout New Zealand and Tasmania. Described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1788, it was for many years considered to be the same species as the southern boobook of mainland Australia until 1999. Its name is derived from its two-tone call. Four subspecies of the morepork are recognized, one of which is extinct and another that exists only as a hybrid population. The bird has almost 20 alternative common names, including mopoke and boobook — many of these names are onomatopoeic, as
Australasian bittern species is listed as endangered. BirdLife International has identified the following sites, all of which are in Australia, as being important for Australasian bittern conservation: Australasian bittern The Australasian bittern ("Botaurus poiciloptilus"), also known as the brown bittern or matuku hūrepo, is a large bird in the heron family Ardeidae. A secretive bird with a distinctive booming call, it is more often heard than seen. Australasian bitterns are endangered in both Australia and New Zealand. The length is from 650 to 750 mm with adults being similar between the sexes while the male is significantly larger. The bird has a