The Mindoro boobook or Mindoro hawk-owl (''Ninox mindorensis'') is a species of

owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...

in the family

Strigidae The true owls or typical owls (family Strigidae) are one of the two generally accepted families of owls, the other being the barn owls (Tytonidae). This large family comprises 230 living or recently extinct species in 24 genera. The typical owl ...

that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

Description

EBird eBird is an online database of bird observations providing scientists, researchers and amateur naturalists with real-time data about bird distribution and abundance. Originally restricted to sightings from the Western Hemisphere, the project e ...

describes the bird as "A fairly small owl of lowland and foothill forest and woodland. Rather dark brown on the head and back and reddish-brown on the chest, with bright yellow eyes and thin white eyebrows forming a V. Mindoro scops-owl is similar in size and color, but Mindoro boobook is finely barred all over. Much smaller than chocolate boobook, without white on the chest. Song is a fairly high-pitched, descending mournful whistle, 'wiiiiuuuuu'." Among the

Philippine hawk-owl The Philippine hawk-owl is a species complex of owls in the family Strigidae. They are all endemic to the Philippines. Description The Philippine hawk-owls are earless. The males and females look much alike. They differ in size and pattern on th ...

species complex In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

, it is distinguished by the fine barring on its head and belly and its overall darker plumage. The Mindoro boobook is an earless species. The males and females look much alike. It is medium-sized at 20 cm tall, along with the

Sulu boobook The Sulu boobook or Sulu hawk-owl (''Ninox reyi'') is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is endemic to the Sulu Archipelago in the Philippines. It was previously known as a subspecies of the Philippine hawk-owl, but was reclassified in ...

, in the

. This is in between the larger

Camiguin boobook The Camiguin boobook or Camiguin hawk-owl (''Ninox leventisi'') is an owl species resident to the Camiguin island in the Philippines. It is the only owl in the country with greenish-yellow or grayish eyes. It was previously known as a subspecies ...

, Romblon boobook and

Cebu boobook The Cebu boobook or Cebu hawk-owl (''Ninox rumseyi'') is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is endemic to the Philippines. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the Philippine hawk-owl, but was reclassified in 2012, as voice and ot ...

at 25 cm and the smaller

Luzon boobook The Luzon boobook or Luzon hawk-owl (''Ninox philippensis'') is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is endemic to the Philippines where it lives in forests. It is a brown and white mottled bird and males and females look much alike. Des ...

and

Mindanao boobook The Mindanao boobook or Mindanao hawk-owl (''Ninox spilocephala'') is a species of owl in the family Strigidae that is endemic to the Philippines on the island of Mindanao. It was previously known as a subspecies of the Philippine hawk-owl, but w ...

which are 15 to 18 cm tall.

Habitat and conservation status

Its habitat is in tropical moist lowland

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...

and

secondary forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a timber harvest or clearing for agriculture, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident. ...

s up to 1250 meters above sea level. It is also occasionally seen on

forest edge A woodland edge or forest edge is the transition zone (ecotone) from an area of woodland or forest to fields or other open spaces. Certain species of plants and animals are adapted to the forest edge, and these species are often more familiar to hu ...

s, clearings and plantations. The

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

classifies this bird as vulnerable with population estimates of 2,500 to 9,999 mature individuals. This species' main threat is

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

with wholesale clearance of forest habitats as a result of legal and

illegal logging Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, or from a pro ...

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

, conversion into farmlands and urbanization. Lowland forest destruction has eradicated almost all of this bird's habitat. In 1988, just 120 km² of forest remained on Mindoro, of which only 25% was closed-canopy. It occurs in a few protected areas in

Mounts Iglit-Baco National Park Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

(which is also the stronghold of the critically endangered

Tamaraw The tamaraw or Mindoro dwarf buffalo (''Bubalus mindorensis'') is a small hoofed mammal belonging to the family Bovidae. It is endemic to the island of Mindoro in the Philippines, and is the only endemic Philippine bovine. It is believed, howe ...

) and

Naujan Lake National Park Naujan Lake is a freshwater lake in the Philippines located in the northeastern corner of the province of Oriental Mindoro on Mindoro Island. The lake is the fifth largest in the country and the main geographical feature of the Naujan Lake Nati ...

. There is no species-specific conservation program at present, but conservation actions proposed include more species surveys to better understand habitat and population, initiating education and awareness campaigns to raise the species' profile and instill pride in locals, and lobbying for protection of the remaining forest.

References

* Kennedy, R.S., Gonzales P.C., Dickinson E.C., Miranda Jr, H.C., Fisher T.H. (2000) ''A Guide to the Birds of the Philippines'', Oxford University Press, Oxford. {{Taxonbar, from=Q601497

Mindoro boobook The Mindoro boobook or Mindoro hawk-owl (''Ninox mindorensis'') is a species of owl in the family Strigidae that is endemic to the Philippines. Description EBird describes the bird as "A fairly small owl of lowland and foothill forest and woodla ...

Birds of Mindoro