Morepork – Ruru

Ninox novaeseelandiae

Moreporks or Ruru are commonly found in the Tangihua ranges and surrounding farm land

Lying in bed at the lodge you will hear them calling or if you have a bright light attracting insects they will swoop through. You will not hear them in flight as they are stealthy predators of insects including huhu beetles, weta, cicadas and large moths. If you are observant you can spot a young one watching or following you during the day

Interesting Morepork Facts:

• The females are bigger than the males. Head to tail they measure around 29cm and the average weight is about 175g.
• They have acute hearing and are sensitive to light.
• They can turn their head through 270 degrees.
• Morepork are nocturnal, hunting at night for large invertebrates including beetles, weta, moths and spiders. They will also take small birds, rats and mice.
• In Maori tradition the morepork was seen as a watchful guardian. It belonged to the spirit world as it is a bird of the night.

Morepork species information

The morepork is a small, dark, forest-dwelling owl. The Morepork is the only remaining native owl species found in New Zealand apart from the Barn Owl, which has only very recently colonised New Zealand from Australia. There was the laughing owl but it is now extinct due to predation

Morepork Calls

The morepork has a distinctive call more-pork which gives them their name. They also utter a repetitive quork-quork and a rising quee call. The rising quee call is often mistaken for a kiwi call as they only call at night. Although nocturnal they can occasionally be seen in the bush around the lodge during the day.

Roosts and nests

Moreporks roost in dark forested areas with high overhead cover, on a branch, on top of a tree fern or within cavity. They sometimes roost inside derelict buildings.
They tend to nest in cavities of live or dead trees, within broken logs, in tree fork or within a hole in earth bank, including in petrel burrows. Also nest in epiphytes, in nest boxes put up for species such as starlings and saddlebacks or in a simple scrape on ground under tree fern fronds, a rock, the roots of trees or anywhere that provides a dark hideaway

Breeding

Moreporks breed in spring and summer. The 1-3 eggs are incubated by the female only. Incubation takes about 25 days, and chicks fledge when about 7 weeks old. Both adults feed the young. If there is feeding pressure the stronger of the chicks will throw the smaller ones out of the nest.

Morepork Behaviour

The morepork has short, broad wings making it very manoeuvrable and able to fly through dense forest. Like other owls it has serrated or comb like edges to its flight feathers that reduce air turbulence over the wing, enabling silent flight. Moreporks are most often seen when they approach street lights or lights on the outside of buildings, to hunt moths that are attracted to the light. They commonly fly into windows, and are often hit by vehicles. Moreporks strongly defend a territory of 3.5 to 7.8 ha. Birds that appear to be calling together in a duet are usually rival males duelling.

Morepork Diet

Moreporks catch and consume a wide variety of small animals, including large insects, small birds (especially silvereyes), and small mammals. The diet varies with season, generally in proportion to abundance of prey species. Insects taken include huhu beetles, weta, cicadas and large moths. Indigestible material are ejected through the mouth as a pellet.

Threats and conservation

Prone to predation when nesting, by cats, possum, rats and mustelids. When nesting on the ground eggs and chicks may also be susceptible to predation by pigs and hedgehogs. Females may be vulnerable to predation when incubating and brooding in cavities.
Moreporks breed readily in captivity.

Good pest control will increase numbers.

Have a Morepork live near you.

Listening to morporks at night is a really neat. Sometimes you may even see them swooping through lights after moths while hunting. A rare sight for most New Zealanders.

Moreporks nesting on the ground or in tree cavities are very vulnerable to stoats and other predators. A safe nest in your garden is the perfect way to help them and for you to see and hear them

Outside lights will attract moths and insects Moreporks like to eat. Weta motels and trees like Puriri and Ngaio will attract Puriri moths and Wetas which Moreporks like to eat.

Nesting Box

Moreporks nesting on the ground or in tree cavities are very vulnerable to stoats and other predators. A safe nest in your garden is the perfect way to help them and for you to see and hear them

1. Use plywood to build the box it can be painted for waterproofing and to hide it
2. Dimensions 700x 260 x 260 at the front 320 at the back
3. The entrance can be round or square 100mm wide
4. Fill the floor with small bark chips about 5cm deep
5. Add a perch under the entrance way – dowl or a branch.
6. An opening and closing bit on the wall at the end opposite the entrance so the box can be cleaned annually and you can see if there are moreporks using it. This is made by cutting a 150 x 150 hole and have an over lapping bit of ply with a couple of screws in it. it can be square or round
7. Sloping roof for water proofing and stopping aggregation of leaves leading to rotting

Download a nesting box plan

Click for a pdf How to build a morepork Box produced by Wingspan which I based my one on

Placement

1. Choose a dark sheltered area in a stand of trees or near the roof of a shed or barn well off the ground.
2. Make it difficult to access by possums, rats, cats or stoats – trapping is also a good option
3. Clean annually in winter so not to disturb the Moreporks breeding
4. This one is supported by a galvanized L bracket (not quite central hence the slight angle)
5. It is in a patch of Totara by our house where moreporks are frequently seen