The Halmahera boobook is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It inhabits the Indonesian islands of Halmahera, Ternate and Bacan. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss. It was previously considered to be a subspecies of the Moluccan boobook.
Region
North Maluku, Indonesia (Halmahera, Ternate, Bacan)
Typical Environment
Occurs in primary and secondary lowland rainforest, forest edge, and selectively logged or degraded forest. It also uses plantations and agroforests adjacent to native woodland, especially where tall trees remain for perching and nesting. The species is mostly a lowland bird but can move into foothill forest where suitable cover persists. It is nocturnal and spends daylight hours roosting in dense foliage.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1000 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The Halmahera boobook is a small, forest-dwelling owl restricted to Indonesia’s North Maluku islands. It was formerly treated as a subspecies of the Moluccan boobook but is now recognized as a distinct species based on voice and plumage. It hunts mostly insects at night from low to mid-level perches within or along the edges of forest. Ongoing deforestation on Halmahera and nearby islands is the main threat.
Temperament
solitary and territorial
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with silent glides
Social Behavior
Typically encountered singly or in pairs, especially during the breeding season when pairs defend territories. Nests are presumed to be in natural tree cavities or old woodpecker holes, as in other Ninox owls. Clutch size is small, likely 1–2 eggs, and both adults attend the young.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Gives a repeated series of mellow hoots and short, slightly quavering notes, often in evenly spaced pairs reminiscent of a soft “boo-book.” Duetting between members of a pair is common at dusk and pre-dawn, with calls carrying through forest edges.
Plumage
Mottled to barred brown upperparts with paler spotting, and buffy to whitish underparts densely barred or streaked brown. The face is slightly rounded with a faint pale eyebrow and darker facial disk. Flight feathers show subtle pale bars; tail is brown with narrow pale bands.
Diet
Feeds mainly on large insects such as beetles, moths, katydids, and cicadas. It also takes spiders and occasionally small vertebrates including geckos, small rodents, or small birds when available. Prey is typically spotted from a perch and seized in short sallies or pounced upon from low heights.
Preferred Environment
Hunts along forest edges, clearings, tracks, and within semi-open understory where moonlight or artificial light aids detection of prey. Frequently uses perches on exposed branches or snags at the margins of primary and secondary forest, and sometimes near villages adjacent to woodland.
