What is it? The morepork is a native New Zealand owl that has been called
\ morepork because it says morepork.
What does it look like? An example of what one looks like is brown speckled but there are lots of different kinds of them. The female ruru is 175 g.
What is the moreporks name in Maori? The moreporks name in Maori
is ruru.
is ruru.
Habitat/Location - Where does it live?
The moreporks habitat is in NZ in open bush.
Does it ever migrate to other places? No, the moreporks do not migrate to
other places.
other places.
Feeding Behaviour - what does it eat and how does it get its food?
Moreporks eat large insects such as weta, huhu beetles, moths, and cicadas.
Moreporks are nocturnal so they hunt at night.
Moreporks eat large insects such as weta, huhu beetles, moths, and cicadas.
Moreporks are nocturnal so they hunt at night.
Reproduction - where do they breed? Who looks after the young? How long do the babies get looked after for? The female spends 30 days with the chicks, fledging at around 35 days after hatching. They generally breed in bush habitat.
They find a hole in a tree or make holes in a tree to nest in.
They usually lay 3 white eggs. When the female is sitting on the eggs the male goes out to feed. They breed from October to November.
What are the threats to it? Morepork is still considered to be relatively common it is likely that numbers are in gradual decline due to predation and loss of habitat.
By Jack
