34 
THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA 
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 pcipuensis Quoy and Gaimard 
papiiensis —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. Durin? 
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 Ion? 
periods at night. Food: insects, chiefly beetles. 
Nest.—A compactly-built platform of sticks and twigs; generally 
ground ^ & h ° nZOntal forked branch of a tree u p to 50 feet from the 
Eag. White and rounded. Breeding-season : September to December 
sometimes as late as February. e ’ 
12. Boobook Owl Ninox boobook Latham 
inal'nan^”^ definiti ° n not known = L - nox > night: boobook- an aborig- 
Distribution. —Australia generally. 
Notes. Also called Cuckoo Owl and Mopoke. Usually sing! or in 
S a%eeTthecfeScTl ***?*• ^ tbe da y * rooltfiSC 
dusk it ventures forth and SarcheYfotw ^**r *° ka * e of \ tree ' At 
well-known call resembling 
Nest. In a hollow limb or hole in a tree. 
tember 7 to De^endfer°or^JanuaTy r ° Unded ' Breedin ^eason: Sep- 
13. Spotted Owl Ninox novce-zeelandice Gmelin 
novcE-seelandice —of New Zealand. 
occurs ?n New°zSand V S ° Uth Wales ’ Victoria, and Tasmania; also 
Usually singly or in pairs, frequenting the thick scrubs. It 
