Norfolk Island Morepork Back from the Brink

Overview

Norfolk Island lies around 1,600 kilometres north-east of Sydney, in the South Pacific Ocean. Located on a submarine ridge, its nearest neighbours are New Caledonia, 875 kilometres to the north, and New Zealand, 770 kilometres south. A small island territory at the juncture of tropical and temperate environments, Norfolk Island, with its mild climate and isolated location, is significant for both vagrant and endemic fauna species.

The Norfolk Island Morepork (Ninox novaeseelandiae undulata) is an endemic owl, considered a distinctive subspecies of the New Zealand Morepork (Ninox novaeseelandiae). One of the world’s rarest owls, it was listed as endangered and headed for extinction, with only one individual, a female, remaining in the mid-1980s. Its perilous state was believed to be due to the lack of large trees with suitable nesting hollows (caused by historical habitat clearing), nest competitors (mainly the Crimson Rosella) and, more recently, a lack of genetic variability and the ageing of the birds.

A rescue mission, in which two New Zealand Moreporks were introduced in 1987, resulted in four hybrid chicks. By 1999, the population had reached around 45–50 individuals. There had been no evidence of successful breeding since 2011, so it was much celebrated when two chicks fledged in 2019. Numbers of this small owl remain low, with recent fieldwork demonstrating just 25–35 individuals persist. Such findings underscore the importance of research and conservation efforts in maintaining our native fauna. Conservation interventions include installing rat-proof nesting boxes, culling nest competitors, baiting rats and improving the owl’s natural habitat.

Technical specifications