Southern boobook north of Perth. There, southern boobook owls are dying after eating rodents that people have killed with second-generation anticoagulant rat poison. Older poisons such as warfarin or coumatetralyl were unlikely to affect owls. 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,
New Britain boobook series of rapidly repeated "whoo"s, starting at a low pitch which rises and becomes faster and louder. This species is found in the lowlands and hills of the New Britain and New Ireland Endemic Bird Areas at elevations of up to above sea level. It is fairly common in its small range and is nocturnal. It roosts during the day alone or in pairs in the middle to upper parts of the forest canopy. It feeds mainly on insects and small mammals. Formerly classified as being a "Species of Least Concern" by the IUCN, the New Britain boobook was later