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Photo: Joseph Smit / Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)

Least Concern

Tanimbar Boobook

Ninox forbesi

Tanimbar Boobook (Ninox forbesi) — Owls of Australia & Oceania.

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The Tanimbar Boobook (Ninox forbesi) is a member of the Strigidae family found in Australia & Oceania. Adults weigh 210 g. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

LC Least Concern

Widespread and abundant — not currently at risk.

Where it fits

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

Where it lives

Tanimbar Is. (southern Moluccas)

Quick facts

Weight
210 g
Family
Strigidae
Order
Strigiformes
Habitat
Woodland

How to identify

Similar birds

Biology & behaviour

Diet

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

The Tanimbar Boobook (Ninox forbesi) belongs to the Strigidae family of the order Strigiformes. It occurs naturally across Australia & Oceania. Its distribution covers AU Tanimbar Is. (s Moluccas).

It is a large bird. Adults weighs around 210 g, with a wing length of about 19.4 cm and a tail of around 11.3 cm.

The IUCN Red List currently assesses it as Least Concern. That category covers species that remain widespread and reasonably abundant in the wild.

The species has a mapped global range of roughly 4,268 km² — a relatively restricted global range.

Songs & calls

Tanimbar Boobook — Song

Recorded by Ross Gallardy Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How big is the Tanimbar Boobook?

The Tanimbar Boobook is a large bird that weighs around 210 g.

Where does the Tanimbar Boobook live?

The Tanimbar Boobook is found across Australia & Oceania with a range covering AU Tanimbar Is. (s Moluccas), where it favours woodland, forest and well-treed country.

What family does the Tanimbar Boobook belong to?

The Tanimbar Boobook (Ninox forbesi) belongs to the Strigidae family, in the order Strigiformes.

What does the Tanimbar Boobook eat?

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

Does the Tanimbar Boobook migrate?

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

Is the Tanimbar Boobook endangered?

The IUCN Red List currently assesses it as Least Concern That category covers species that remain widespread and reasonably abundant in the wild.

What sound does the Tanimbar Boobook make?

1 real field recording of the Tanimbar 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 Tanimbar Boobook's range?

The Tanimbar Boobook has a mapped global range of about 4,268 km².

Conservation

Least Concern

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

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Guides for this bird

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

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