Australian Boobook
Ninox boobook
The smallest owl on the Australian mainland, the Australian boobook is 27 to 36 cm (10.5 to 14 in) long. The nominate subspecies is the largest. It has short, rounded wings and a short tail, with a compact silhouette in flight. Australian boobooks on the Australian mainland follow Bergmann's rule, in that birds from cooler and more southerly parts of the range tend to be larger. Thus, birds from the Canberra region weigh around 300 g (11 oz) while those from the Cape York Peninsula and Broome are around 200 g (7.1 oz).
ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Northern Boobook
Ninox japonica
Ninox japonica is a hawk owl species with a body length averaging between 29 and 33 cm and a wingspan of approximately 60 to 70 cm wide. Current knowledge on the species shows no sexual dimorphism and an average weight of approximately 168g. The northern boobook has a hawk-like appearance and its subspecies are practically indistinguishable. Individuals of the species will have a brown back and wings with lighter brown horizontal streaks on the tail feathers. The neck, crown and face of this bird are slightly more greyish brown aside from a small white patch above the beak. Voice: Northern boobooks vocalize through a sequence of deep ho-hos and this behavior is specific to breeding individuals during their reproductive periods. Correspondingly, the vocalization of N. japonica is seldom heard in regions where it is migrant or a winter resident.
ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Where you might meet both
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Play today's Daily BirdPhotos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Australian Boobook and Northern Boobook.