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Morepork

Liz Bonnin presents the morepork or Ru-Ru, New Zealand's only surviving native owl.

Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.

Liz Bonnin presents the morepork or Ru-Ru, New Zealand's only surviving native owl. Strange double notes in the forests of New Zealand were once thought to be cries from the Underworld. But these calls are most likely to be that of a morepork calling. Its familiar call earned it the alternative Maori name of "ruru". Largely nocturnal, it has brown, streaky feathers and large bright yellow eyes which are well adapted for almost silent night hunting forays for large insects, spiders, small birds and mammals. In Maori mythology, moreporks, or "ruru" are spiritual birds, and can represent the ancestral spirit of a family, taking the form of a woman known as "Hine-Ruru" or "owl woman" who acts as a guardian, protecting and advising the family members.

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2 minutes

Last on

Sun 25 Jul 2021 08:58

Morepork [aka Southern boobook] (Ninox novaeseelandiae)

Webpage image courtesy of Brent Stephenson / naturepl.com.

漏 Brent Stephenson / naturepl.com

Recording of southern boobook (morepork) by Matthew D Medler / Ref: ML 136145

This programme contains a wildtrack recording of the聽聽kindly provided by The Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology; recorded by Matthew D Medler on 25 Apr 2004, in Pongakawa Ecological Reserve, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand.

Broadcasts

  • Fri 12 Dec 2014 05:58
  • Thu 29 Oct 2015 05:58
  • Thu 25 Oct 2018 05:58
  • Thu 3 Oct 2019 05:58
  • Sun 25 Jul 2021 08:58

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