Christmas boobook species are on-going. Christmas boobook The Christmas boobook ("Ninox natalis"), also known more specifically as the Christmas Island hawk-owl, is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. Closely related to the hawk owls of Southeast Asia and Australia. "N. natalis" was first classified at species level by J.J.Lister in 1888. It was not until 1998 however that DNA testing confirmed its status as a separate species from other owls. "N. natalis" is endemic to Christmas Island, a small Australian territory of about 135 square km situated in the Indian Ocean approximately 360 km south of Java. The flora and
Southern boobook to "N. connivens". Genetic and call analysis show the Christmas boobook ("N. natalis") to be very close to the Australian populations of the southern boobook, leading Gwee and colleagues to suggest it be reclassified within this species. Gwee and colleagues found that boobook populations on larger mountainous islands were more distinct from Australian stock, while those on flatter smaller islands were much more similar, suggesting that these locations were colonised much more recently after previous populations had become extinct. Eleven subspecies of "Ninox boobook" are recognised in version 7.3 of the IOC World Bird List, published in July 2017: The