Skip to main content

Photo: John Gerrard Keulemans / Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)

Near Threatened

Sumba Boobook

Ninox rudolfi

Sumba Boobook (Ninox rudolfi) — Owls of Australia & Oceania.

Field guide · LocationsWhere to see this bird

Found across 2 guides in our atlas — open any for the full checklist, photos and what's around right now.

Regional checklists
See what's near you right now

The Sumba Boobook (Ninox rudolfi) is a member of the Strigidae family found in Australia & Oceania. Adults weigh 222 g. The IUCN Red List lists it as Near Threatened.

NT Near Threatened

Close to qualifying for a threatened category in the near future.

Where it fits

  1. Class Aves
  2. Order Strigiformes
  3. Family Strigidae Owls
  4. Genus Ninox
  5. Species rudolfi

Where it lives

Sumba (south-central Lesser Sundas)

Quick facts

Weight
222 g
Family
Strigidae
Order
Strigiformes
Habitat
Woodland

How to identify

Similar birds

Biology & behaviour

Diet

The Sumba Boobook is a invertivore — it feeds mainly on invertebrates such as insects and other small prey.

Behaviour

A bird of dense forest, it spends much of its time perched in trees and shrubs.

Migration

The Sumba Boobook is largely sedentary, staying within its range year-round rather than making regular long-distance migrations.

The Sumba Boobook (Ninox rudolfi) belongs to the Strigidae family of the order Strigiformes. Its range spans Australia & Oceania. Its distribution covers AU Sumba (sc Lesser Sundas).

It is a large bird. Adults weighs around 222 g, with a wing length of about 23.3 cm and a tail of around 14.2 cm.

The IUCN Red List lists it as Near Threatened. That means it is close to qualifying as threatened and is worth keeping a careful eye on.

The species has a mapped global range of roughly 11,000 km² — a relatively restricted global range.

Songs & calls

Sumba Boobook — Song

Recorded by Ding Li Yong Licence: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How big is the Sumba Boobook?

The Sumba Boobook is a large bird that weighs around 222 g.

Where does the Sumba Boobook live?

The Sumba Boobook is found across Australia & Oceania with a range covering AU Sumba (sc Lesser Sundas), where it favours woodland, forest and well-treed country.

What family does the Sumba Boobook belong to?

The Sumba Boobook (Ninox rudolfi) belongs to the Strigidae family, in the order Strigiformes.

What does the Sumba Boobook eat?

The Sumba Boobook is a invertivore — it feeds mainly on invertebrates such as insects and other small prey.

Does the Sumba Boobook migrate?

The Sumba Boobook is largely sedentary, staying within its range year-round rather than making regular long-distance migrations.

Is the Sumba Boobook endangered?

The IUCN Red List lists it as Near Threatened That means it is close to qualifying as threatened and is worth keeping a careful eye on.

What sound does the Sumba Boobook make?

1 real field recording of the Sumba Boobook — including its song — can be played in the Songs & calls section on this page, credited to the recordist who captured it.

How large is the Sumba Boobook's range?

The Sumba Boobook has a mapped global range of about 11,000 km².

Conservation

Near Threatened

Every bird benefits from bird-safe windows, native plants, and keeping cats indoors. Small changes at home add up to real protection.

How to help birds

Explore more birds

More in Strigidae

More in Owls

Guides for this bird

Meet the Strigidae

A field guide to the Strigidae family — 236 species in the Birbs encyclopedia, with the best-known members to start with.

1 min read

Back to top