Southern boobook Southern boobook The southern boobook ("Ninox boobook") is a species of owl native to mainland Australia, southern New Guinea, the island of Timor, and the Sunda Islands. Described by John Latham in 1801, it was generally considered to be the same species as the morepork of New Zealand until 1999. Its name is derived from its two-tone "boo-book" call. Eleven subspecies of the southern boobook are recognized, despite evidence that four have calls and genetics distinctive enough to warrant separate species status. The smallest owl on the Australian mainland, the southern boobook is long, with predominantly dark-brown plumage with prominent
Australasian swamphen Australasian swamphen The Australasian swamphen ("Porphyrio melanotus") is a species of swamphen occurring in eastern Indonesia, the Moluccas, Aru and Kai Islands, as well as in Papua New Guinea and Australia. It is also found in New Zealand, where it is known as the pukeko, a term derived from the Māori language. The Australasian swamphen used to be considered a subspecies of the purple swamphen. The Australasian swamphen is found in mainland Australia, eastern Indonesia, the Moluccas, Aru and Kai Islands, and in Papua New Guinea. They are also found on New Zealand's main islands and in the Chatham and