In Māori tradition, morepork / ruru was seen as a watchful guardian (kaitiaki) & of the spirit world as it is nocturnal

They're regarded as having the power to protect, warn & advise (See Margaret Orbell's "Birds of Aotearoa", Reed, 2003)

It's haunting 'more-pork' or 'ru-ru' sound signalled good news & its high-pitched 'yelp' forewarned bad news or events

It's appearance at night may foretell death; & may announce the imminent arrival of visitors. (Audio: Sound of the ruru)

Moreporks are relatively common throughout NZ's pine & native forests, gullies, & urban parks & well-vegetated gardens

They also live on NZ's outlying islands. They are less common in drier eastern regions of South Island.

In 1773, German naturalist Johann Reinhold Forster diaried a description of the morepork seen at Queen Charlotte Sound

He'd accompanied Captain James Cook on his second voyage to the Pacific Ocean

In 1781, Forster's description of the “New Zeeland owl" was included by John Latham in "A General Synopsis of Birds"

Image: Example of one of the bird plates in Latham's book

In 1819, the Family 'Strigidae' was introduced by zoologist William Elford Leach when classifying owls in British Museum

The Order Strigiformes has two families: Strigidae (true / typical owls) & Tytonidae (barn owls)

in 1837, English naturalist Brian Houghton Hodgson introduced the new genus Ninox (Hawk owls) to the Strigidae Family

The morepork is one of 37 owls currently listed in "Ninox" & is classified as "Ninox novaeseelandiae"

NZ's morepork was thought to be same species as the Australian boobook found in Australia, Timor-Leste & New Guinea

However, in 1999, the Australian boobook was classified as 'Ninox boobook' in "The Handbook of the birds of the world"

NZ's morepork was also considered to be the same species as the Tasmanian boobook (also called Tasmanian spotted owl)

However, in 2022, the Tasmanian boobook was reclassified as 'Ninox leucopsis' by International Ornithological Congress

NZ's morepork is closely related to the Norfolk Island boobook owl which is subspecies 'Ninox novaeseelandiae undulata'

In 1986, Norfolk Island had 1 owl (a female) left. NZ male was introduced & chicks born 1989 & 1990 have since inbred.

NZ's morepork is distinct from the smaller 'little owl' which was introduced from Germany in 1906-1910 to protect crops

Little owl (Ruru nohinohi) were released in Sth Island & one pair in Rotorua, to prey on small birds

In 2006, "Morepork" was designated the official English-language name by the International Ornithogical Committee (IOC)

The IOC published “Birds of the World: Recommended English Names” by Frank Gill & Minturn Wright in 2006

Courtship rituals include posturing (wing flapping, bowing & swaying), various calls, & male often giving food to female

Morepork tend to form long-lasting pairs

Morepork nest in cavities in live or dead trees, in logs, in clumps of epiphytes, or among rocks & roots on the ground

Threats to females, chicks & eggs include cats, possums, rats & stoats. Also, pigs & hedgehogs if nesting on the ground.

The female lays between 1-5 eggs between Sept - Nov

Eggs are laid at a two-day interval. Egg's dimensions: Length: 38 mm & Width: 33.99 mm

The chicks develop wing feathers (fledge) when about 37-42 days old

The young are fed by both adults

The tips of juvenile morepork's feathers are white & fluffy which are worn away gradually

Their plumage is a darker and more greyish brown overall than that of adults

Young moreporks attain full adult plumage in their third or fourth year

The lifespan of moreporks is 5 to 11 years of age

Oldest known morepork in captivity was reported to be over 40 years. (Source: Morepork Ruru Interest Group, 8 Nov 2021)

The head is dark brown & there are pale brown spots on the head & neck, & white markings on upper part of the head

The feathers that cover the ears are also brown

The breast is dark-brown speckled with cream & brown through to rufous (red-haired)

The back feathers are dark-brown spotted with off-white

The legs have feathers & the feet are orange or yellow with sharp blackish claws

The serrated comb-like fringes on the edge of the wing feathers reduce air turbulence

The reduced air turbulence on the wings helps them to fly silently

The supercilium (eyebrow) is a pale yellow-white

Like all owls, morepork are sensitive to light & are mainly nocturnal night-hunters

The retina's photoreceptor cells at the back of their eyes determines levels of light sensitivity & colour vision

The retina's photoreceptors cells are mainly rod cells, enabling morepork to better see colour & objects in dim light

With daytime birds & other vertebrae, the photoreceptor cells are mainly cone cells for functioning in bright light

By constricting their large irises, moreporks can also see quite well in daylight

They have acute hearing (shape of their skull bones & facial feathers help funnel sound to large openings of their ears)

Like all owls, they have an extra vertebrate in their neck enabling them to turn their head through 270 degrees

Morepork have a range of calls including their haunting 'morepork' or 'ruru' call usually repeated every 4-5 seconds

Their other calls include "quee / cree" which is often confused with the kiwi & the little owl (‘kiew’)

Spectogram showing morepork calls: “quee / cree”, “ruru” / “morepork”; “quork-quork”; “yelp”; “por-por-por” croak

Shows: Time in secs, Frequency (low to high); & Amplitude / loudness (Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research, 2022)

Moreporks use their call to keep in contact with each other & to announce their territory which is c.3.5 - 7.8 hectares

They'll perch on a branch to espy prey perching on other branches or sitting on the ground

They use their night vision & hearing to locate prey up to several metres away

They'll pounce on their prey by flying silently downwards

They will also hunt for small birds, rats, mice, gecko & bats

(Video (2017) of morepork catching a bat; 29 secs)

They use their sharp talons or beak to catch prey

They use their claws to give body blow to birds; then pick up the dazed bird. (Image: Adult bringing sparrow to chicks)

Moreporks regurgitate indigestible material through the mouth as pellets, eg bones, fur, & exoskeletons of insects

(Image: Regurgitated pellet with insect parts)

Morepork sleep during the day in their roosts - on branches in the shade; in cavities of trees; or in thick vegetation

Their dark brown plumage makes them difficult to see in shaded areas

Morepork spotted roosting can be mobbed by small birds with cries & beating of wings to force them to move

(Image: When photographed, morepork was being pestered by a bellbird and a robin)

Morepork are usually seen singly, in pairs, or in small family groups of an adult pair with young

During 1860s-80s, an early advocate for the conservation of morepork was NZ ornithologist Walter Buller

Buller (1838-1906) had studied birds since his schooldays & became a fellow of Linnean Society of London in 1858

In 1871, 310 bird specimens, including four morepork, were purchased from Buller by the Colonial Museum, Wellington

Specimen No. 13 (Adult female, mounted in case A); No. 14 (Adult male), No. 15 (Light variety); No. 16 (Small variety)

In 1873, Buller published 'A history of the birds in New Zealand" which included a section on the morepork (pp. 193-197)

Buller described the adult morepork & chicks, their habitat, nesting, daytime & night-time movements, & feeding habits

He included accounts by local iwi, colonists & Sir George Grey on the impact of morepork on other birds & wildlife

An enlarged edition published by Buller in 1888 included J. G. Keulemans's chromolithographic plates

From 1 Dec 1888, the morepork was included in the operation of the Animals Protection Act 1880

The Gazette stated: "...the bird known as the "rum" or "koukou" by the Natives, and "night jar" or "morepork"

Dec 2021: Under the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS), the status of morepork/ruru is "Not Threatened"

NZTCS is administered by Dept. of Conservation. Panels of experts assess status of each species group over 5-year cycle.

However, morepork are considered possibly threatened by predators when nesting or roosting in trees or on the ground

Predators include cats, possums, rats & stoats; & also pigs & hedgehogs if nesting on the ground

They are also possibly threatened by secondary poisoning from toxins used for predator controls

They could be affected by eating live prey that has ingested poison; eg anticoagulants pesticides

Their habitat can be affected when land is cleared for housing, or large trees removed to reduce shade or enhance views

Morepork are especially prone to being injured or killed by traffic when they search for food near roads

At night, they can often fly into the headlights of cars. (Image: Injured fledgling found on side of road)

The Banks Peninsula Conservation Trust (BPCT) began conducting surveys of morepork in July 2014

BPCT has also produced the "Morepork Education Kit" for Level 2 Learning Programmes in Canterbury schools

Morepork / ruru are also cared for in wildlife centres & zoos

Wingspan: National Bird of Prey Centre, Rotorua (Video (c.2019): Meet the Locals: Ruru; 4 mins)

(Image: Central Energy Trust Wildbase Recovery at Palmerston North for the conservation & protection of native birds)

(NZOnScreen video (2004): The Best of The Zoo, Episode 3 includes morepork at the Auckland Zoo (View 18:21 – 18:52 secs)

Hand-coloured lithograph of morepork (on left) & laughing owl by J. Keulemans, 1872

Two watercolours by A. D. Willis of Wanganui for insertion into greeting cards by Archibald Dudingston Willis, c.1885

Lithograph of morepork (on left) & laughing owl by J. Keulemans, c.1888

The name 'Morepork' & image used as a trademark by the Christchurch Meat Co. from 1895 & its agents in NZ over the years

Watercolour by George Lodge, c.1913-14

Design & lithograph by Percy Reginald Bagnall & Thomas Ralph de Vere Gulliver of the Quoin Club, 1919

Drypoint artwork by Trevor Lloyd, c.1925-1930

Wood engraving by E. Mervyn Taylor, 1943

Schoolchildren with drawings and stories about a morepork, Korokoro School, Wellington, 1959

Lithograph on paper by Juliet Peter, c.1963-65

$50 banknote with ruru (morepork) on reverse side which was first issued in 1983

Bone stone shell pendant by Hamish Campbell, 1987

Oil on canas by Joan Fear, 2008

"Ruru" by Jeremy Shirley on a wall just off Karangahape Road in Newton, Auckland, 1 July 2017

"Ruru2" by Jeremy Shirley on the wall of the Ministry for Social Development in Glen Innes, Auckland, 2019

NZ's ten cent coin

It was first introduced in 1967 to replace one shilling coin, & in 2006 its become small & its alloy replaced by copper

The glaring looks (pūkana) when performing the haka are said to be of the ruru / morepork

Pūkana when performing waiata

In the annual Bird of the Year competition, the morepork/ruru has been voted 4 times in the Top 5 birds (1995 - 2024)

2012 (Third); 2013 (Second); 2016 (Fourth); & 2024 (Fourth)

In 2024, the morepork/ruru came 4th (4,467 votes) to the Hoihoi yellow-eyed penguin (6,328 votes)

In 2022, the ruru received the support of the Science Learning Hub (see promotional video) but did not make the Top ten