Wikipedia:Today's featured article/December 21, 2021
The Australian boobook (Ninox boobook) is an owl native to mainland Australia, southern New Guinea, the island of Timor, and the Sunda Islands. Described by John Latham in 1801, its name is derived from its two-tone boo-book call. Eight subspecies are recognised; three further subspecies were reclassified as separate species in 2019. The smallest owl on the Australian mainland, the boobook is 27 to 36 cm (10.5 to 14 in) long, with predominantly dark-brown plumage and prominent pale spots. It has grey-green or yellow-green eyes. It is generally nocturnal, though it is sometimes active at dawn and dusk, retiring to roost in secluded spots in the foliage of trees. The Australian boobook feeds on insects and small vertebrates, hunting by pouncing on them from tree perches. Breeding takes place from late winter to early summer, and tree hollows are used as nesting sites. The species has a large range and apparently stable population, and is not threatened. (Full article...)