Name:Ninox japonica
Alias:Ninox japonica,Northern Boobook,Northern Hawk Owl
Outline:Bird of prey
Family:Strigiformes Owl
length:31-33cm
Weight:168-250g
Life:About 10-20 years
IUCN:LC
The Japanese hawk owl, also known as the Northern Boobook, is a medium-sized owl with three subspecies.
The Japanese eagle owl was once a subspecies of the eagle owl (Ninox scutulata) - "Ninox scutulata japonica". In 2014, it was classified as an independent species "Ninox japonica", which has three subspecies.
Japanese eagle owls roost mostly in dense vegetation canopies during the day, and are active at dusk and at night, and sometimes during the day. Except for the breeding season, they are mostly active alone in other seasons. In addition, they are mostly active in family groups after the chicks leave the nest and during migration. They fly quickly and agilely, and silently, flying through trees at high speed without touching branches, with the ability to make tight turns and almost vertical ascents and descents. They fly faster and more powerfully when attacking intruders. They often suddenly fly out from their roosts.
During the breeding season, Japanese eagle owls often call at dusk and at night. The call is varied, like a pleasant, almost musical song, not loud, but can be heard for a long distance. Two or three short, round, ethereal, surrounding notes of the same pitch, with audible gaps between the notes. These two-note or three-note calls are made in succession with pauses of 0.3 to 0.9 seconds. Other vocalizations described include high-pitched, nasal, piercing whirrs, sustained hums similar to a cat's purr, and cat-like meows.
The Japanese Eagle Owl hunts in trees in open spaces, at the edge of forests, or in cultivated fields, catching prey on the ground or in leaves, and insects in midair. It feeds mainly on rodents, small birds, and insects. It sometimes breaks into people's homes while chasing prey. It feeds mainly on invertebrates in the summer, such as large butterflies and various other flying insects. However, crabs, lizards, amphibians, small birds, and small rodents (including bats) are also part of its diet.
The breeding season for the Japanese Eagle Owl is from May to July. Usually nests are built in natural holes on tall trees, and also in tree holes used by mandarin ducks and woodpeckers. The tree holes for nesting are relatively wide, and their width and depth vary greatly. There is no bedding in the nest, or only rotten sawdust in the tree hole. If it is an old nest of mandarin ducks, there are a small amount of down feathers left in it. One nest is bred every year, and 3 eggs are laid in each nest. The eggs are nearly spherical, milky white, and the surface is smooth without spots. The female bird is responsible for incubation, while the male bird is on guard near the nest. It is extremely fierce when guarding the nest, especially in the late incubation period and during the brooding period. When encountering danger, the male and female birds will take turns to launch fierce attacks on the intruders until the intruders are driven out of the territory. The incubation period is 25-31 days. The hatched chicks have dense white down. Late-maturing, parents feed food together. The chicks stay in the nest for 24-26 days, and the chicks leave the nest one after another when they are 30 days old.
Listed in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2016 ver3.1-Least Concern (LC).
Listed in Appendix I, II and III of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) 2019 edition Appendix II.
Listed in China's National Key Protected Wildlife List (February 5, 2021) Level II.
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