34 
THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA 
Notes. — Also called Tawny-shouldered Frogmouth, Tawny- 
shouldered Podargus and Mopoke. Usually singly or in pairs, frequent- 
ing forest-lands generally. It is strictly nocturnal, sleeping in an upright 
position throughout the day on a branch of a tree. When at rest it 
simulates the bark of the branch so well that it is often difficult to locate. 
Its call is a low booming or grunting note like “Oom,” repeated twenty or 
more times, and easily imitated by closing the mouth and making a grunt- 
ing sound through the nose. Food: insects. 
Nest . — An open platform, composed of sticks loosely put together. 
Generally placed in a horizontal forked branch of a tree up to 40 feet 
from the ground. 
Eggs. — Two or three, white and rounded. Breeding-season: August 
to December. 
11. Papuan Frogmouth Podargus papuensis Quoy and Gaimard 
papuensis — of Papua or New Guinea. 
Distribution. — Northern Queensland (from Cape York to Cairns) ; 
also occurs in New Guinea and the Aru Islands. 
Notes. — Also called Large Frogmouth and Plumed Frogmouth. 
Usually singly or in pairs, frequenting open forests and scrubs. During 
the day it rests in an upright “dead-stick” attitude on a branch. At times 
it utters a weird and ghostly “laugh” — a rapid “Hoo-hoo-hoo” ; it also has 
a call like the Tawny Frogmouth, a series of “Ooms,” uttered for long 
periods at night. Food : insects, chiefly beetles. 
Nest. — A compactly-built platform of sticks and twigs; generally 
placed in a horizontal forked branch of a tree up to 50 feet from the 
ground. 
Egg. — White and rounded. Breeding-season : September to December, 
sometimes as late as February. 
12. Boobook Owl Ninox boobook Latham 
Ni'-nox — ni, definition not known; L., nox, night: boobook — an aborig- 
inal name. 
Distribution. — Australia generally. 
Notes. — Also called Cuckoo Owl and Mopoke. Usually singly or in 
pairs, frequenting forests generally. During the day it roosts in a hollow 
in a tree, in the crevice of a rock, or under the thick foliage of a tree. At 
dusk it ventures forth and searches for food, which consists of insects, 
small rodents, and small birds. It utters the well-known call resembling 
“Mo-poke,” “More pork,” or “Boo-book !” 
Nest. — In a hollow limb or hole in a tree. 
Eggs. — Three or four, white and rounded. Breeding-season: Sep- 
tember to December or January. 
13. Spotted Owl Ninox novce-zeelandice Gmelin 
novce-zeelandice — of New Zealand. 
Distribution. — New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania; also 
occurs in New Zealand. 
