Morepork they emulate the bird's distinctive two-pitched call. It has dark brown plumage with prominent pale spots, and golden-yellow eyes. It is generally nocturnal, though is sometimes active at dawn and dusk, retiring to roost in secluded spots in the foliage of trees. The morepork feeds on insects and small vertebrates, hunting by pouncing on them from tree perches. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed the morepork as being of least concern on account of its large range and apparently stable population. English naturalist John Latham wrote of the New Zealand owl in his 1780s work "A General
Morepork single species. Examining both morphological and genetic (cytochrome "b") characters, Michael Wink and colleagues concluded that the southern boobook was distinct from the morepork, as was the Tasmanian boobook, which should be raised to species status as "Ninox leucopsis". Four subspecies of "Ninox novaeseelandiae" are recognised by the IOC, two of which are extinct: The morepork is long, with female slightly larger than the male. She is slightly heavier, too, at 170-216 g compared with the male's 140-156 g. The morepork has generally dark brown head and upperparts, with pale brown spots on head and neck and white markings on