Southern boobook age. Brushtail possums ("Trichosurus" spp.) and introduced cats and rats raid the nests for nestlings and eggs, and raptors such as the brown goshawk ("Accipiter fasciatus"), grey goshawk ("Accipiter novaehollandiae"), Australian masked owl ("Tyto novaehollandiae"), and probably powerful owl ("Ninox strenua") seize young birds. Juvenile southern boobooks are at greater risk after bushfires and have perished after being tangled up in dodder ("Cassytha") or bidgee-widgee ("Acaena novae-zelandiae"). The southern boobook generally preys on mice, insects, particularly nocturnal beetles and moths, and birds the size of a house sparrow ("Passer domesticus"). A higher proportion of its diet is invertebrates compared with
Southern boobook grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, cockroaches, moths, wolf spiders, and huntsman spiders were also consumed. A study in Victoria found that larger animals were eaten, including Baillon's crake ("Porzana pusilla"), common ringtail possum ("Pseudocheirus peregrinus") and feral rabbit ("Oryctolagus cuniculus"). Using a fence, branch, or telegraph pole as a perch or vantage point from which to hunt, the southern boobook pounces on prey then retreats to a tree or elevated place to eat it. It often hunts in open areas near trees, and also where prey is likely to congregate, such as mice near haystacks or barns, or flying insects near street-