Australian Biological Resources Study

Australian Faunal Directory

Subspecies Ninox (Ninox) boobook ocellata (Bonaparte, 1850)

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CAVS: 0243

Subspecies Ninox (Ninox) boobook ocellata (Bonaparte, 1850)

  • Athene ocellata Bonaparte, C.L. 1850. Conspectus Generum Avium. Tom. I. Lugduni, Batavorum : E.J. Brill 543 pp. [Date published 24 Jun 1850] [42] [based on the Chevêche ocellöe figured on pl. 3, fig. 2 (1843) of Oiseaux in Dumont-d'Urville, J. 1853. Voyage au Pole Sud et dans l'Océanie sur les corvettes l'Astrolabe et la Zélée pendant les années 1837–1838–1839–1840, sous le commandement de M.J. Dumont-d'Urville Capitaine de vaisseau. Atlas, Zoologie. Paris : Gide et Cie et J. Baudry [published between 1842–1853]; authorship attributed to Hombron and Jacquinot, but their formal naming of the form was not published until 1853 by J. Pucheran in Dumont-d'Urville, J. 1853. Voyage au Pole Sud et dans l'Océanie sur les corvettes l'Astrolabe et la Zélée exécuté par ordre du Roi pendant les années 1837–1838–1839–1840, sous le commandement de M.J. Dumont-d'Urville Capitaine de vaisseau. Zoologie. Pt 1 (Mammifères et Oiseaux). Paris : Gide et Cie et J. Baudry Vol. III 6–166 pp. (51), see Sherborn, C.D. & Woodward, B.B. 1901. Notes on the dates of publication of the natural history portions of some French voyages - Part 1. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 7 7: 388–392 [Mathews, G.M. 1925. The Birds of Australia. Supplements 4 & 5. Bibliography of the Birds of Australia Pts 1 & 2. London : H.F. & G. Witherby viii 149 pp.] and, for authorship, Zimmer, J.T. 1926. Catalogue of the Edward E. Ayer Ornithological Library. Field Museum of Natural History Publications, Zoological Series 16: 1–364 (Pt 1, Publ. 239), 365–706 (Pt 2, Publ. 240); for application of name, see Peters, J.L. 1940. Check-list of Birds of the World. Cambridge : Harvard University Press Vol. 4 xii 291 pp. (138–139, footnote)].
    Type data:
     Holotype MNHP 178 unsexed adult, Raffles Bay, Cobourg Peninsula, NT (as Oceania)
    Comment: for identification of holotype, see Sharpe, R.B. 1875. Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum. Catalogue of the Striges, or Nocturnal Birds of Prey. London : British Museum Vol. 2 xi 325 pp. XIV pls (170, footnote), cf. Mathews, G.M. 1927. Systema Avium Australasianarum. A systematic list of the birds of the Australasian region. London : British Ornithologists' Union Pt 1 iv 426 pp. (272); Mathews, G.M. 1930. Systema Avium Australasianarum. A systematic list of the birds of the Australasian region. Pt 2 pp. London : British Ornithologists' Union 427–1048 pp. (913); Mathews, G.M. 1932. Additions and corrections to the 'Systema Avium Australasianarum'. Ibis 13 2: 132-161;.
  • Ninox boobook mixta Mathews, G.M. 1912. A Reference-List to the Birds of Australia. Novitates Zoologicae 18: 171-455 [Date published 31 Jan 1912] [255] [holotype figured on pl. 260 and described in detail on p. 312 in Mathews, G.M. 1916. The Birds of Australia. London : Witherby & Co. Vol. 5 pt 3 pp. 249–352 pls 255–266 [23 May 1916 Mathews, G.M. 1925. The Birds of Australia. Supplements 4 & 5. Bibliography of the Birds of Australia Pts 1 & 2. London : H.F. & G. Witherby viii 149 pp.]].
    Type data:
     Holotype AMNH 630469 ♀ adult (G.M. Mathews' coll. no. 893), Parry's Creek, Kimberley Division, WA
    Comment: for identification of holotype, see Greenway, J.C. 1978. Type specimens of birds in the American Museum of Natural History. Pt 2. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 161: 1–306.
  • Ninox boobook melvillensis Mathews, G.M. 1912. Additions and corrections to my Reference List to the Birds of Australia. Austral Avian Records 1(2): 25-52 [Date published 2 Apr 1912] [34] [published anonymously—authorship credited in Austral Avian Rec. 1: 65].
    Type data:
     Holotype AMNH 630475 ♂ (G.M. Mathews' coll. no. 10796), Cooper's Camp, Apsley Strait, Melville Island, NT (as Melville Island)
    Comment: for identification of holotype and type locality, see Mees, G.F. 1964. A revision of the Australian owls (Strigidae and Tytonidae). Zoologische Verhandelingen 65: 1–62; Greenway, J.C. 1978. Type specimens of birds in the American Museum of Natural History. Pt 2. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 161: 1–306.
  • Ninox boobook macgillivrayi Mathews, G.M. 1913. Additions and corrections to my Reference List, Addenda. Austral Avian Records 1(8): 187-194 [Date published Jan.] [194].
    Type data:
     Holotype AMNH 630504 ♀ (G.M. Mathews' coll. no. 13881), Patison Creek, Cape York, QLD (as Cape York)
    Comment: for identification of holotype and type locality, see Greenway, J.C. 1978. Type specimens of birds in the American Museum of Natural History. Pt 2. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 161: 1–306.
  • Spiloglaux novaeseelandiae everardi Mathews, G.M. 1916. The Birds of Australia. London : Witherby & Co. Vol. 5 pt 3 pp. 249-352 pls 255-266. [Date published 23 May 1916: Mathews, G.M. 1925. The Birds of Australia. Supplements 4 & 5. Bibliography of the Birds of Australia Pts 1 & 2. London : H.F. & G. Witherby viii 149 pp.] [332].
    Type data:
     Holotype AMNH 630494 ♂ (G.M. Mathews' coll. no. unspecified), Everard Range, north SA (as Everard Ranges, Central Australia)
    Comment: for identification of holotype, see Greenway, J.C. 1978. Type specimens of birds in the American Museum of Natural History. Pt 2. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 161: 1–306.
  • Ninox ooldeaensis Cayley, N.W. 1929. The status of certain species of the genus Ninox, and a description of two new species of that genus. The Emu 28: 161-164 [publication date Mathews, G.M. 1920. Dates of ornithological works. Austral Avian Records 4: 1–27 Mathews, G.M. 1925. The Birds of Australia. Supplements 4 & 5. Bibliography of the Birds of Australia Pts 1 & 2. London : H.F. & G. Witherby viii 149 pp.] [163].
    Type data:
     Holotype AM 0.26604 ♀ adult, 655 km west from Port Augusta on East-West (Railway) Line (as near Ooldea), SA
    Comment: for identification of holotype, see Hindwood, K.A. 1946. A list of the types and paratypes of birds from Australian localities in the Australian Museum, Sydney, New South Wales. Records of the Australian Museum 21: 386–393; Longmore, N.W. 1991. Type specimens of birds in the Australian Museum. Technichal Report of the Australian Museum n 4: 1–42.
    Type locality references:
    Longmore, N.W. 1991. Type specimens of birds in the Australian Museum. Technical Reports of the Australian Museum n 4: 1-42 (cf. Hindwood, K.A. 1946. A list of the types and paratypes of birds from Australian localities in the Australian Museum, Sydney, New South Wales. Records of the Australian Museum 21: 386–393).
  • Ninox novaeseelandiae arida Mayr, E. 1943. Notes on Australian birds (II). The Emu 43: 3-17 [For publication date Duncan, F.M. 1937. On the dates of publication of the Society's 'Proceedings', 1859–1926. With an appendix containing the dates of publication of 'Proceedings', 1830–1858, compiled by the late F.H. Waterhouse, and of the 'Transactions', 1833–1869, by the late Henry Peavot, originally published in P.Z.S. 1893, 1913. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 107: 71–84] [16].
    Type data:
     Holotype AMNH 630464 ♂ adult, Fitzroy River, 5 miles southwest of Mt Anderson, West Kimberley District, WA
    Comment: for identification of holotype, see Greenway, J.C. 1978. Type specimens of birds in the American Museum of Natural History. Pt 2. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 161: 1–306.
  • Spiloglaux boobook parocellata Mathews, G.M. 1946. A Working List of Australian Birds including the Australian Quadrant and New Zealand. Sydney : G.M. Mathews 184 pp. [55] [published without description but based by reference on a previously published account in Mathews, G.M. 1916. The Birds of Australia. London : Witherby & Co. Vol. 5 pt 3 pp. 249–352 pls 255–266 [23 May 1916 Mathews, G.M. 1925. The Birds of Australia. Supplements 4 & 5. Bibliography of the Birds of Australia Pts 1 & 2. London : H.F. & G. Witherby viii 149 pp.] (331), and available under ICZN Art. 12(b)(1); the latter account includes a description and applies exclusively to southwest Australian populations, as is evident from Mathews' introduction of parocellata for them when he realized that the type of Athene ocellata Bonaparte, 1850 was of a different form, see Peters, J.L. 1940. Check-list of Birds of the World. Cambridge : Harvard University Press Vol. 4 xii 291 pp. (138–139, footnote); no type specified, but syntypes may be inferred from Mathews' prior description (Mathews, G.M. 1916. The Birds of Australia. London : Witherby & Co. Vol. 5 pt 3 pp. 249–352 pls 255–266 [23 May 1916 Mathews, G.M. 1925. The Birds of Australia. Supplements 4 & 5. Bibliography of the Birds of Australia Pts 1 & 2. London : H.F. & G. Witherby viii 149 pp.])—they include at least one specimen from Bayswater, near Perth, (ex coll. E. Ashby), and the type of ocellata Bonaparte, 1850: thus the protologue of parocellata is composite, see Mees, G.F. 1961. An annotated catalogue of a collection of bird-skins from West Pilbara, Western Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 44: 97–143; in choosing the type of Athene ocellata Bonaparte, 1850 as the lectotype of Spiloglaux boobook parocellata Mathews, 1946, Mees (1961) switched the type locality of parocellata and altered Mathews' intended taxonomic concept].
    Type data:
     Lectotype MNHP 178 unsexed adult, Raffles Bay, Cobourg Peninsula, NT (as South West Australia).
    Paralectotype(s) AMNH 63450? (ex E. Ashby coll.).
    Type locality references:
    Mees, G.F. 1961. An annotated catalogue of a collection of bird-skins from West Pilbara, Western Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 44: 97-143 [106] (by lectotypification; cf. Peters, J.L. 1940. Check-list of Birds of the World. Cambridge : Harvard University Press Vol. 4 xii 291 pp. [138–139, footnote]).
  • Spiloglaux ocellata carteri Mathews, G.M. 1946. A Working List of Australian Birds including the Australian Quadrant and New Zealand. Sydney : G.M. Mathews 184 pp. [55] [published with meagre description and without designated type material; for status of name and type locality, see Mees, G.F. 1961. An annotated catalogue of a collection of bird-skins from West Pilbara, Western Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 44: 97–143 (106)].
    Type data:
     Neotype WAM 9518 ♀, Marble Bar, Pilbara, WA (as Mid West Australia).
  • Type data:
     Holotype WAM A1022 ♀, Perth, WA.

 

Miscellaneous Literature Names

  • Ninox novaeseelandiae ocellata [a misidentification].

 

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia


Extra Distribution Information

Western, northern and inland Australia east to Cape York Peninsula, QLD, in north to eastern catchments of the Lake Eyre basin and to middle Darling River, QLD, NSW, and Olary Spur, N Flinders Range and Eyre Peninsula, SA, in south, but scarce to absent in treeless western deserts—also Rottnest Is. (irregular), Melville-Bathurst Ils, Groote Eylandt, Sir Edward Pellew and Wellesley Ils, rarely islands in Torres Strait (Thursday Is.), and ?Sawoe Is., Lesser Sundas. Intergrades with N. b. boobook (Latham, 1802) from between the headwaters of the Burdekin and Mitchell, Gilbert, Flinders and Thomson Rivers, QLD, south-west through the east Lake Eyre and W Murray-Darling basins to the south and central Flinders Range and head of Spencer Gulf, SA.


Note that conversion of the original AFD map of states, drainage basins and coastal and oceanic zones to IBRA and IMCRA regions may have produced errors. The new maps will be reviewed and corrected as updates occur. The maps may not indicate the entire distribution. See further details below.
IBRA and IMCRA regions (map not available)
drainage basins and coastal and oceanic zones (map not available)

IBRA

NSW, NT, Qld, SA, WA: Australian Alps (AA), Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Desert Uplands (DEU), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Eyre Yorke Block (EYB), Flinders Lofty Block (FLB), Gawler (GAW), Kanmantoo (KAN), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Mulga Lands (ML), Nandewar (NAN), New England Tablelands (NET), NSW North Coast (NNC), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Riverina (RIV), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Wet Tropics (WT)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

  • Australia
    • New South Wales: Bulloo River basin, Lake Eyre basin, Murray-Darling basin
    • Northern Territory: N Gulf, N coastal, W plateau
    • Queensland: Bulloo River basin, Lake Eyre basin, NE coastal
    • South Australia: Lake Eyre basin, Murray-Darling basin, S Gulfs
    • Western Australia: N coastal, NW coastal, SW coastal, W plateau

Ecological Descriptors

Arboreal, arthropod-feeder, carnivorous, low open woodland, low woodland, nocturnal, nomadic, open forest, predator, sedentary, territorial, volant, woodland.

Extra Ecological Information

Randomly dispersed, seasonal breeder, general carnivore, in eucalypt forest, woodland and mallee, and in river eucalypts along stream lines in arid regions, roosts arboreally by day usually among dense branches, hunts by night in perch-and-pounce sallies, nests on beds of decayed wood prepared by male in hollows, female alone broods, disperses locally after breeding.

 

General References

Mayr, E. 1943. Notes on Australian birds (II). The Emu 43: 3-17 [For publication date Duncan, F.M. 1937. On the dates of publication of the Society's 'Proceedings', 1859–1926. With an appendix containing the dates of publication of 'Proceedings', 1830–1858, compiled by the late F.H. Waterhouse, and of the 'Transactions', 1833–1869, by the late Henry Peavot, originally published in P.Z.S. 1893, 1913. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 107: 71–84] (distribution, taxonomy)

Mees, G.F. 1961. An annotated catalogue of a collection of bird-skins from West Pilbara, Western Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 44: 97-143 (taxonomy, nomenclature)

 

History of changes

Note that this list may be incomplete for dates prior to September 2013.
Published As part of group Action Date Action Type Compiler(s)
10-Nov-2020 AVES 17-Mar-2020 MODIFIED
23-Oct-2013 MODIFIED