Bird Guide

Morepork vs Powerful Owl

Morepork (Ninox novaeseelandiae)

Morepork

Ninox novaeseelandiae

Medium183 gForest

The morepork is 26 to 29 cm (10 to 11.5 in) long, with the female slightly larger than the male. Females are slightly heavier at 170–216 g (6.0–7.6 oz) compared with the male's 140–156 g (4.9–5.5 oz). The morepork has generally dark brown head and upperparts, with pale brown spots on head and neck and white markings on the rest of the upperparts, with a pale yellow-white supercilium (eyebrow), dark brown ear coverts, and buff cheeks. The eyes are yellow to golden-yellow. The feathers of the chin and throat are buff with dark brown shafts. Voice: Moreporks have multiple distinct vocalisations. The "more-pork" call for which they are named is heard most frequently, but other vocalisations include a high pitched yelping call, a whistling call similar to kiwi, and a lower pitched "quork-quork" rumbling call. As many as 11 distinct calls have been observed by researchers.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Morepork
Recorded by craig wilson · Call · North West Bay, Marlborough District, Marlborough, New Zealand · CC BY 4.0
Photo: Peter de Lange · CC0
Powerful Owl (Ninox strenua)

Powerful Owl

Ninox strenua

Large1.3 kgForest

The powerful owl has a long tail and a small head, giving it an atypical silhouette for an owl and imparting a more hawk-like appearance than any other large owl. The protruding bill and distinct brow ridges enhance the hawk-like appearance of the species. The facial disc is ill-defined. The upper parts are dark grey-brown, mottled, and barred with whitish. The underparts are white with bold, grey-brown, V-shaped barring. The tail has six narrow white bars contrasting with grey-brown. Voice: The male powerful owl's song is an impressive low, rather mournful-sounding and far-carrying double-hoot, whoo-hooo, each note lasting a few seconds at least, broken up by a brief silence and the second note being usually higher pitched than the first. The female has a similar call, but has a higher-pitched voice. Duets are frequently heard at the onset of breeding.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: ianrainbow · CC BY 4.0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Morepork and Powerful Owl.