"by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, on account of its large range and stable population, with no evidence of any significant decline. Like most species of owls, the morepork is protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora with its placement on the Appendix II list of vulnerable species, which makes the import, export, and trade of listed wild-caught animals illegal. Morepork The morepork (""Ninox novaeseelandiae""), also called the ruru or Tasmanian spotted owl, is a small brown owl found throughout New Zealand and Tasmania. Described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in"
"southern boobooks may directly correlate with rainfall, with the paler species being found in areas of lower rainfall, indicating the semi arid regions of Australia (the range of the ocellata sub species). The boobook has a very distinctive double hoot ‘boo-book’ with the second note being lower. This call has earned it the common name of ‘mopoke’. Subspecies ocellata tends to inhabit the warmer areas of Australia, from north-western New South Wales/western Queensland spanning across to Western Australia, although it is rarely found in the more arid regions. The boobook is found in a wide variety of habitats, from semi-arid"
"treated Australian and New Zealand boobooks, along with several taxa from Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, as one species—""Ninox novaeseelandiae""—with 16 subspecies. In his 1968 book ""Nightwatchmen of the Bush and Plain"", Australian naturalist David Fleay observed that the boobooks from Tasmania more closely resembled those of New Zealand than those from mainland Australia, though he followed Mees in treating them as a single species. The southern boobook was split from the Tasmanian boobook and morepork in volume 5 of the """" in 1999, though several authors, including Australian ornithologists Les Christidis and Walter Boles, continued to treat the three"
"single species. Examining both morphological and genetic (cytochrome ""b"") characters, Michael Wink and colleagues concluded that the southern boobook was distinct from the morepork, as was the Tasmanian boobook, which should be raised to species status as ""Ninox leucopsis"". Four subspecies of ""Ninox novaeseelandiae"" are recognised by the IOC, two of which are extinct: The morepork is long, with female slightly larger than the male. She is slightly heavier, too, at 170-216 g compared with the male's 140-156 g. The morepork has generally dark brown head and upperparts, with pale brown spots on head and neck and white markings on"
"a ‘facial mask’ with dark chocolate brown circles around the eyes, these circles are outlined by lighter triangle shaped areas on the throat and forehead. The eyes are large and grey-green or yellow, and the bill grey. Being the smallest species of owl on the Australian mainland the boobook weighs in at 200-300g, smaller birds being found in warmer areas (ocellata tends to be smaller), and measuring 27–37 cm in length. Boobooks are often confused with the barking owl, however the easiest way to differentiate is by size, the boobook is a fair bit smaller. Mayr found that colour in"
"Australia"", Gould recognised three species, all of which he placed in the genus ""Spiloglaux"": ""S. marmoratus"" from South Australia, ""S. boobook"", which is widespread across the Australian mainland and Tasmania, and ""S. maculatus"" from southeastern Australia and Tasmania. Meanwhile, in India, English naturalist Brian Houghton Hodgson had established the genus ""Ninox"" in 1837, and his countryman Edward Blyth placed the southern boobook in the new genus in 1849. ""Southern boobook"" has been designated the official name by the International Ornithological Committee. The common name comes from the two-tone call of the bird, and has also been transcribed as ""mopoke"". William"
"Boodie The boodie (""Bettongia lesueur""), also known as the burrowing bettong, is a small marsupial. Its population is an example of the effects of introduced animals on Australian fauna and ecosystems. Once the most common macropodiform mammal on the whole continent, the boodie now only lives on off-lying islands and in a newly introduced population on the mainland at Shark Bay. This animal, first collected during an 1817 French expedition of the west coast, was named after Charles Lesueur, an artist and naturalist who accompanied a previous French expedition. ""B. lesueur"" is known by many common names, including the tungoo,"
"Moke (slang) Moke is a term used in the British Isles as slang for ""donkey"". In Australia it refers to a nag or inferior horse, and is employed by residents of the Hawaiian Islands in similar fashion as the British to derogatorily describe segments of the local Polynesian population. In practice, the word ""moke"" is similar to ""redneck"", as it is only used to describe a certain personality type, instead of an entire ethnic group. John William's ""A Narrative of Missionary Enterprises in the South Sea Islands"" (1832) is one of the earliest records of Mokes in literature. Williams, a"
"Dwarf cassowary The dwarf cassowary (""Casuarius bennetti"") also known as the Bennett's cassowary, little cassowary, mountain cassowary, or mooruk, is the smallest of the three species of cassowaries. The scientific name commemorates the Australian naturalist George Bennett. He was the first scientist to examine these birds after a few were brought to Australia aboard a ship. Recognising them as a new species of cassowary, he sent specimens back to England, where other taxonomists confirmed his perception. On the west side of Geelvink Bay, western Papua, there is a distinctive form that may merit a split. ""C. papuanus"" is the tentative"
"names of Moore and other authors were reviewed and published in Serventy and Whittell ""Birds of Western Australia"" (1948, & eds.), those recorded at ""Perth"", ""Good-un-goodt-un"", ""Guddanang-uddan"" and ""Guldanguldan"", and at ""Avon River"", ""Moy-a-duk"" and ""Moyadong"", the second location referring to the district at Avon River. A recommended orthography and pronunciation list (Abbott, 2009) of Nyungar avian nomenclature, with broad cultural consultation, has proposed ""moyadong"" [moy’a’dawng] and ""kootonkooton"" [koot’awn’koot’awn] be adopted to complement the systematic nomenclature. The smallest species of its genus, the adult western rosella weighs and is long. It has broad wings with a wingspan , and a"
"Little pied cormorant The little pied cormorant, little shag or kawaupaka (""Microcarbo melanoleucos"") is a common Australasian waterbird, found around the coasts, islands, estuaries, and inland waters of Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, and around the islands of the south-western Pacific and the subantarctic. It is a small short-billed cormorant usually black above and white below with a yellow bill and small crest, although a mostly black white-throated form predominates in New Zealand. Three subspecies are recognised. Until recently most authorities referred to this species as ""Phalacrocorax melanoleucos"". The species is known as the little pied cormorant"
"Mudrooroo Colin Thomas Johnson (born 21 August 1938), better known by his nom de plume Mudrooroo, is a novelist, poet, essayist and playwright. He has been described as one of the most enigmatic literary figures of Australia and since 2001 he has been living in Kapan, Nepal. His many works are centred on Australian Aboriginal characters and Aboriginal topics. Also known as Mudrooroo Narogin and Mudrooroo Nyoongah. ""Narogin"" after the indigenous spelling for his place of birth, and ""Nyoongah"" after the name of the people from whom he claimed descent. ""Mudrooroo"" means ""paperbark"" in the Bibbulmun language group spoken by"
"known. ""Talapoin"" is a 16th-century French word for a Buddhist monk, from Portuguese ""talapão"", from Mon ""tala pōi"" ""our lord""; originally jocular, from the appearance of the monkey. Talapoin Talapoins () are the two species of Old World monkeys classified in genus Miopithecus. They live in central Africa, with their range extending from Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Angola. With a typical length of 32 to 45 cm and a weight of approximately 1.3 kg (males) and 0.8 kg (females), the talapoins are the smallest Old World monkeys. Their fur is grey green on top and"
"Marsupial Marsupials are any members of the mammalian infraclass Marsupialia. All extant marsupials are endemic to Australasia and the Americas. A distinctive characteristic common to these species is that most of the young are carried in a pouch. Well-known marsupials include kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, possums, opossums, wombats, and Tasmanian devils. Some lesser-known marsupials are the potoroo and the quokka. Marsupials represent the clade originating from the last common ancestor of extant metatherians. Like other mammals in the Metatheria, they give birth to relatively undeveloped young that often reside in a pouch located on their mothers’ abdomen for a certain amount"
"Bourke's parrot The Bourke's parrot (""Neopsephotus bourkii"", formerly known as ""Neophema bourkii""), also known as the blue-vented parrot, sundown parrot, pink-bellied parrot, Bourke's parakeet, Bourke or ""Bourkie"", is a small parrot originating in Australia and the only species in its genus, Neopsephotus. This species is sometimes placed in the genus ""Neophema"" and there is an ongoing discussion about the proper taxonomic placement of this species. It is a grass parrot approximately 19 cm long and weighing around 45 grams. It is named after General Sir Richard Bourke, Governor of New South Wales from 1831 to 1837. The Bourke’s parrot is"
"Waikikamukau Waikikamukau (, as if saying ""Why kick a moo-cow"") is a generic name for a small rural town or locality in New Zealand. New Zealanders use the name as a placeholder name for ""any town"" or to denote a non-specific but remote rural town. It has a similar connotation to the New Zealand slang Wop Wops and the Australian term Woop Woop and other appellations such as the ""Boondocks"" or ""Timbuktu"". The name is a joking reference to the frequency of New Zealand place names starting with ""Wai"" (Māori for water, and used in the names of many rivers"
"in Australia, and as the little shag or by the Māori name of kawaupaka in New Zealand. The term white-throated shag is also reserved for the melanistic form there. The little pied cormorant was originally described by French naturalist Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot in 1817. Its specific epithet is derived from the Ancient Greek words ""melano-"" ""black"", and ""leukos"" ""white"". In 1931, American ornithologist James Lee Peters was the first to consider this in a separate genus along with the pygmy cormorant ""(M. pygmaeus)"", little cormorant ""(M. niger)"", and the long-tailed cormorant ""(M. africanus)"". Since then, molecular work by Sibley"
"Australo-Papuan babbler The Pomatostomidae (Australo-Papuan or Australasian babblers, also known as pseudo-babblers) are small to medium-sized birds endemic to Australia-New Guinea. For many years, the Australo-Papuan babblers were classified, rather uncertainly, with the Old World babblers (Timaliidae), on the grounds of similar appearance and habits. More recent research, however, indicates that they are too basal to belong the Passerida – let alone the Sylvioidea where the Old World babblers are placed – and they are now classed as a separate family close to the Orthonychidae (logrunners). Five species in one genus are currently recognised, although the red-breasted subspecies ""rubeculus"" of"
"Trees. Number 33 (1992). Mudrooroo Colin Thomas Johnson (born 21 August 1938), better known by his nom de plume Mudrooroo, is a novelist, poet, essayist and playwright. He has been described as one of the most enigmatic literary figures of Australia and since 2001 he has been living in Kapan, Nepal. His many works are centred on Australian Aboriginal characters and Aboriginal topics. Also known as Mudrooroo Narogin and Mudrooroo Nyoongah. ""Narogin"" after the indigenous spelling for his place of birth, and ""Nyoongah"" after the name of the people from whom he claimed descent. ""Mudrooroo"" means ""paperbark"" in the Bibbulmun"
"The macropods are divided into three families: the Hypsiprymnodontidae, with the musky rat-kangaroo as its only member; the Potoroidae, with 11 species; and the Macropodidae, with 45 species. Macropods are found in all Australian environments except alpine areas. The Potoroidae include the bettongs, potaroos and rat-kangaroos, small species that make nests and carry plant material with their tails. The Macropodiae include kangaroos, wallabies and associated species; size varies widely within this family. Most macropods have large hind legs and long, narrow hind feet, with a distinctive arrangement of four toes, and powerfully muscled tails, which they use to hop around."
"due to its call (double hoot ‘boo-book’). This owl is often confused with the barking owl due to their similar appearance, however the boobook is a fair amount smaller. The boobook feeds on insects and small vertebrates (usually around the size of a mouse). The ""ocellata"" subspecies of southern boobook differs from other subspecies in its plumage colouring, which is lighter than the mainland birds. southern boobooks have brown plumage on their backs and cream to rufous brown stomachs, often heavily streaked or spotted with white, they have markings on the scapulars and spots on the wings. All boobooks have"
"also used adjectively and can describe objects that are pertaining to people who are themselves bogan (or Yobbo). Some elements of Aboriginal languages have been incorporated into Australian English, mainly as names for flora and fauna (for example koala, dingo, kangaroo). Some examples are ""cooee"" and ""yakka"". The former is a high-pitched call () which travels long distances and is used to attract attention, which has been derived from Dharug, an Aboriginal language spoken in the Sydney region. ""Cooee"" has also become a notional distance: ""if he's within cooee, we'll spot him"". ""Yakka"" means work, strenuous labour, and comes from"
"Macropodidae Macropods are marsupials belonging to the family Macropodidae, the kangaroo family, which includes kangaroos, wallabies, tree-kangaroos, wallaroos, pademelons, quokkas, and several others. Macropods are native to the Australian continent (mainland, Tasmania, New Guinea and nearby islands). Before European settlement of Australia, about 65 species of macropods existed. Six species have since become extinct and a further eleven have been greatly reduced in numbers. Other species (e.g. ""Simosthenurus"", ""Propleopus"", ""Macropus titan"") became extinct after the Australian Aborigines arrived and before the Europeans arrived. Although omnivorous kangaroos lived in the past, modern macropods are herbivorous. Some are browsers, but most are"
"areas, to scrubland, open woodland and forests. This species has adapted to human influence very well, being found in any area where there are scattered trees (such as suburban areas or farmland). The boobook is predominately a nocturnal hunter, although morning and afternoon hunts can occasionally occur (on dull or overcast days). The Boobook feeds on small vertebrates and insects (generally nocturnal species of insect and small vertebrates approximately the size of a mouse) with prey being located by observation from a high perch, the boobook can catch prey both aerially and on land. The southern boobook breeds from September"
"west of Lake Austin in Western Australia. Its specific epithet is Latin ""occidentalis"" ""western"". The species was originally placed within its own genus (""Geopsittacus"") by Gould, though consensus soon swung in favour of placing it in ""Pezoporus""; James Murie dissected a specimen, observing that it was very similar in anatomy and plumage to the ground parrot. Gould had posited a relationship to the kakapo based on similarity of the plumage, however Murie concluded they were markedly different anatomically. Despite its close relationship with the ground parrot, its placement in the genus ""Pezoporus"" was uncertain, with some authorities leaving it in"
"restricted to two offshore islands of Western Australia. The three named species of forest wallabies (g. ""Dorcopsulus"") are native to the island of New Guinea. The dwarf wallaby is the smallest member of the genus and the smallest known member of the kangaroo family. Its length is about 46 cm from nose to tail, and it weighs about 1.6 kg. The name ""wallaby"" comes from Dharug ""walabi"" or ""waliba"". Young wallabies are known as ""joeys"", like many other marsupials. Adult male wallabies are referred to as ""bucks"", ""boomers"", or ""jacks"". An adult female wallaby is known as a ""doe"", ""flyer"","
"the musky rat-kangaroo as its only member; the Potoroidae, with 10 species; and the Macropodidae which had 53 members in Australia, but some species are extinct. The Potoroidae include the bettongs, potaroos and rat-kangaroos, small species that make nests and carry plant material with their tails. The Macropodiae include kangaroos, wallabies and associated species; size varies widely within this family. Most macropods move in a bipedal, energy-efficient hopping motion. They have powerfully muscled tails and large hind legs with long narrow hind feet. The hind feet have a distinctive arrangement of four toes, while the short front legs have five"
"12 years of age, with hybrid individuals reaching a recorded 18 years of age Ninox novaeseelandiae ocellata Ninox novaeseelandiae ocellata is a subspecies of southern boobook. The southern boobook is the most common and smallest owl on the Australian mainland. The sub species is characterised by its lighter colour than other sub species, and is generally found in a wide range of habitats (adapting very well to human activities). Ocellata is the smallest of the boobook subspecies as it is found in the warmer western parts of Australia (north-western New South Wales/western Queensland across to Western Australia). although it is"
"vernacular in ""Pogo"", sometimes referred to as ""swamp-speak"", is essentially a rural southern U.S. dialect laced with nonstop malapropisms, fractured grammar, ""creative"" spelling and mangled polysyllables such as ""incredibobble"" and ""hysteriwockle"", plus invented words such as the exasperated exclamations ""Bazz Fazz!"", ""Rowrbazzle!"" and ""Moomph!"" Here is an example: Pogo has been engaged in his favorite pastime, fishing in the swamp from a flat-bottomed boat, and has hooked a small catfish. ""Ha!"" he exclaims, ""A small fry!"" At this point Hoss-Head the Champeen Catfish, bigger than Pogo himself, rears out of the swamp and the following dialogue ensues: Kelly was an"
"Quokka The quokka (, ""Setonix brachyurus""), the only member of the genus Setonix, is a small macropod about the size of a domestic cat. Like other marsupials in the macropod family (such as kangaroos and wallabies), the quokka is herbivorous and mainly nocturnal. Quokkas are found on some smaller islands off the coast of Western Australia, particularly Rottnest Island, just off Perth, and also Bald Island near Albany, and in isolated scattered populations in forest and coastal heath between Perth and Albany. A small colony exists at the eastern limit of their range in a protected area of Two Peoples"
"Mountain brushtail possum The mountain brushtail possum, or southern bobuck (""Trichosurus cunninghami""), is a nocturnal, semi-arboreal marsupial of the family Phalangeridae native to southeastern Australia. It was not described as a separate species until 2002. In 2002, based upon morphometric differences, it was proposed that the mountain brushtail possum, ""Trichosurus caninus"", be reclassified into two distinct species. The northern form was to retain the binomial name ""T. caninus"" but was henceforth to be known as the short-eared possum. The southern population, prevalent in the Victorian Alps was to retain its already designated common name mountain brushtail possum but assigned a"
"dogs which roam in the interior of the island. Small dorcopsis The lesser forest wallaby or small dorcopsis (""Dorcopsulus vanheurni"") is a species of marsupial in the family Macropodidae. It is found in the mountainous interior of West Papua, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests. It is less common than it used to be and the IUCN has assessed it as being ""near threatened"". The small dorcopsis is endemic to the island of New Guinea, being present in hill and upland habitats in the central mountain chain, at altitudes between . It"
"noted the informal vernacular used after settlement of Australia, the 'Little Fish-Hawk' in New South Wales and 'Fish-Hawk' recorded at the Swan River Colony by John Gilbert; the extant names for the species were ""Joor-jout"" at Port Essington and another in southwest Australia, transliterated from the Nyungar language; this latter name has proposed for common use in southwest Australia as ""yoondoordo"" [pronounced yoon’door’daw]. The species ""Pandion cristatus"", comparable in size as a medium-sized raptor or large hawk, occurs near the coast and large water bodies and is highly adapted to hunt and capture marine animals. The plumage is dark brown"