The Ochre-bellied boobook (Ninox ochracea) is a species of owl native to the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia.
Ochre-bellied boobooks are about 13 inches in length, with a wingspan of up to 18 inches. The upper plumage is a dark brown, with white mottling. The underside is a reddish ochre in color, giving the species its common name. A whitish "V" mark is centered on the face. The legs are feathered to the toes.
It is sometimes called the "ochre-bellied hawk-owl" due to similarities in shape and appearance to hawks; like other members of the genus Ninox it lacks a facial disk, yet still retains the distinctive owl-like eyes, which are yellow in color.
Ochre-bellied boobooks subsist on large insects such as beetles and grasshoppers, but will also take frogs, lizards, small birds and rodents. It prefers tall forested areas up to 1,000 feet elevation, and usually attached to rivers; some authorities believe the birds to be attached to drier climates. By day they roost within dense vegetation.
It is believed the ochre-bellied boobook was never a common bird; formerly ranging over much of Indonesia, it is now restricted to the island of Sulawesi, and estimated to be no more than 30,000 individuals. Logging and agriculture have been blamed for the species decline.
- The Owl Pages
- König, Weick and Becking, editors. Owls: A Guide to the Owls of the World; Yale University Press (1999)