ANATOMY OF BIRDS
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION
MIGRATIONS OF BIRDS
CLASSIFICATION OF BIRDS
LIZARD-TAILED BIRD
AMERICAN TOOTHED-BIRDS
THE OSTRICHES
THE RHEAS
EMEUS AND CASSOWARIES
THE TINAMOUS
THE KIWIS
THE PENGUINS
LOONS AND GREBES
ALBATROSSES & PETRELS
STORK-LIKE BIRDS
GOOSE-LIKE BIRDS
FALCON-LIKE BIRDS
FOWL-LIKE BIRDS
CRANE-LIKE BIRDS
PLOVER-LIKE BIRDS
CUCKOO-LIKE BIRDS
THE ROLLER-LIKE BIRDS
SPARROW-LIKE BIRDS
Birds and Birding's Guide to:
Watching THE ROLLER-LIKE BIRDS
THE ROLLERS AND THEIR ALLIES
THE OWLS
"Morepork”Owl
The familiar little Owl of New Zealand, known to the colonists under the name of Morepork (N. nova-zealandice), is the only representative of the genus in this area. It is brown above, spotted with fulvous, and rufous streaked with brown and spotted with white below; the length is about twelve inches. The Morepork, which derives its popular name from its peculiar cry, is a strictly nocturnal species, spending the day in the dark recesses of the forest or hiding in the crevices of rocks and outbuildings, and when discovered at such times is”found sitting upright, with head drawn in, the eyes half closed, and the feathers of the body raised, making the bird appear much larger than it really is.”"
But,”says Buller,”on the approach of night its whole nature is changed; the half-closed orbits open to their full extent, the pupils expand till the yellow irides are reduced to a narrow external margin, and the lustrous orbs glow with animation, while all the motions of the bird are full of life and activity. It then sallies forth from its hiding place and explores in all localities, preferring, however, the outskirts of the forest, where nocturnal insects abound, and the bush clearings in the neighborhood of farms, or the ruins of Maori villages, these places being generally infested with rats and mice, on which it chiefly subsists."
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