We live inner city and have a Morepork in our garden, can any one tell me about these birds, do they mostly hunt for mice?
wembley1,
Nov 3, 4:54pm
No mice pre-people. Weta, moths and small birds I'd say.
gamefisher,
Nov 3, 5:06pm
Beetles, moth,caterpillars, wetas, spiders & small birds but rodent are low priority in their diet.
..james..,
Nov 3, 6:20pm
I was watching 2 moreporks saturday night flying from their perches in a tree catching moths. I use to have one that did this some nights next to my front door. One night i released a mouse from a cage trap out the door (I didn't want to kill it and yes i know it would have come back in) and the more pork swooped down only 2 m from me and carried away the mouse.
Have a pair of moreporks around home, nice to hear them, very eerie when the night is still.
goodbooks,
Nov 6, 12:49am
There's one here too, so lovely to hear their distinctive call :-)
wembley1,
Nov 6, 6:13am
I wasn't saying they don't but the OP said "do they mostly hunt for mice" so I was pointing out there was a certain evolutionary and environmental impediment to that proposition.
mm12345,
Nov 6, 8:44am
Possibly invalidated by the fact that the species probably evolved in Tasmania where they probably fed on small marsupials. Curiously, these were introduced to NZ: http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/9990415.jpg They're about the same size as a morepork, I don't know why they were introduced, perhaps to catch mice, perhaps some other reason. Quite common - but seldom seen.
rainrain1,
Nov 6, 9:29am
Is that the Little Owl? Heard one of those around here over Winter, as well as the Morepork.
lemming2,
Nov 6, 9:46am
The Tasmanian Boobook owl is identical to the NZ Morepork.
mm12345,
Nov 6, 3:21pm
Yes - little owl. That one in the photo wasn't well - it could fly, but out and on the ground during the day. I took it to the bird hospital, it sat calmly in my car staring me right in the eyes the whole trip. A mouse would be a pretty decent sized meal for these owls - they're all fluff and feathers, body not much bigger than a starling perhaps. I've seen moreporks hunting mice in a national park (Abel Tasman). They're silent flying - swoop right past you in the dead of night, and you don't hear a flutter.
rainrain1,
Nov 6, 7:10pm
Darling things, I love them, I have only once ever seen a live one. I have though, found a couple of dead ones lying on the ground. Every Winter I hear the Morepork call in the night, and this Winter is the first time I have ever heard the Little Owl call
aaron235,
Nov 8, 5:52pm
you are very lucky moreporks are more en-danger than kiwi due to 1080,the one we have stalked bugs in our outdoor spotlight
wembley1,
Nov 8, 6:20pm
Bugs eat 1080 do they?
In any case the conservation status of Morepork is "Not Threatened" (Resident native taxa that have large, stable populations). Not threatened is the lowest conservation status and other species in this class are Tui, fantail, waxeye, etc.
aaron235,
Nov 9, 7:39am
wembley1 check the doc website on morepork,,poisons and population
litespeed,
Nov 9, 7:50am
Where did you read that, they are not endangered at all let alone more endangered than kiwi!
moby,
Nov 9, 9:36am
Had one as a pet when I was a kid (rescued from flying into a closed window and braining itself). Great pet - perched on shoulder, ate chopped liver and roosted in the back of the valve radio (nice and warm).
wembley1,
Nov 9, 11:23am
The following scientific papers list morepork as "not threatened":
Conservation status of NZ Birds, 2008: Rod Hitchmough (DoC) et al
I note on the same page the other threats include "loss of habitat" ??
whitehead.,
Aug 5, 7:11pm
they are lovely birds .if you have black glass in /on your house please let it get a bit dirty as i have had them fly into the glass at night .its the sadest thing to pick one up there is nothing to their little bodys and their eyes are the most bright yellow and very big
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