The chocolate boobook (Ninox randi) is a bird species in the true owl family, Strigidae. It was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the brown boobook. It was formerly thought to be endemic to the Philippines until it was heard and recorded Karakelang in Indonesia in 1997 but there have been no subsequent records outside the Philippines since.[3]
| Chocolate boobook | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Strigiformes |
| Family: | Strigidae |
| Genus: | Ninox |
| Species: | N. randi
|
| Binomial name | |
| Ninox randi Deignan, 1951
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| Synonyms | |
|
Ninox scutulata randi | |
Description and taxonomy
editEBird describes the bird as "A medium-sized owl of lowland and foothill forest and edge. Dark brown on the upperparts and head, with white underparts thickly streaked with reddish-brown. Face grayish and eyes yellow. Occurs together with several other boobook species, but Chocolate is much larger, with plain brown wings and more demarcated streaking on the chest. Voice is also different: a series of identical, medium-pitched “boop!” notes."[4] It is part of the Brown boobook species complex but is differentiated by voice and its body measurements.
It is monotypic and has no subspecies. [3]
Ecology and behavior
editDiet is unknown but presumed to be the typical boobook diet of insects and small vertebrates. Nothing is known about its breeding habits except a young individual was found in June. It is pressumed to be a cavity nester. [3]
Habitat and conservation status
editThis species habitat is in primary lowland rainforest, second-growth forest and mangroves up to 1,000 meters above sea level. It is not tolerant of cultivated areas and human habitated areas.
IUCN has assessed this bird as near-threatened species with the population believed to be declining due to deforestation in the Philippines continues throughout the country due to slash and burn farming, mining, illegal logging and habitat conversion. It is also occasionally caught for the pet trade or for bushmeat.
It is found in multiple protected areas such as Pasonanca Natural Park, Rajah Sikatuna Protected Landscape and Bataan National Park but like all areas in the Philippines, protection is lax and deforestation continues despite this protection on paper. [5]
References
edit- ^ BirdLife International (2016). "Ninox randi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22726321A94918597. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22726321A94918597.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
- ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
- ^ a b c del Hoyo, Josep; Collar, Nigel; Marks, Jeffrey S. (2020-03-04), "Chocolate Boobook (Ninox randi)", Birds of the World, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, doi:10.2173/bow.choboo1.01, retrieved 2024-09-09
- ^ "Chocolate Boobook - eBird". ebird.org. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
- ^ IUCN (2016-10-01). Ninox randi: BirdLife International: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T22726321A94918597 (Report). International Union for Conservation of Nature. doi:10.2305/iucn.uk.2016-3.rlts.t22726321a94918597.en.