📸 PhotoPhoto: muangpaisuetrong · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Northern Boobook
Ninox japonica (Northern Boobook · アオバズク)
🇰🇷 Natural Monument (Korea) «Northern Boobook»
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 It lives not only in forests but also in city parks.
- 💡 Its body length of 25 cm is slightly longer than the short side of an A4 sheet of paper (21 cm) (Comparison).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
📖 1. Overview
The Northern Boobook is a small owl living in East Asia and is a common summer visitor in Korea.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its body length is about 25 cm; the head, back, and tail are dark brown, while the breast and belly are white with dark brown vertical streaks. The tail has dark brown horizontal bands, and the bill and feet are yellow.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It is active mainly at night, feeding on insects, bats, and small wild birds, and rests perched on tree branches during the day.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
In Korea, it was designated as a Natural Monument (Korea) on November 16, 1982, and is a common summer visitor living from lowlands to high mountains.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2025) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22725653/209520163
- • 천연기념물 «솔부엉이» — 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000001868 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000001868
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • Korean protection status: Natural Monument (Korea) «Northern Boobook»
- • doi.org — avilist.v2026
- • iucnredlist.org — 209520163
- • 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000001868 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000001868
- • heritage.go.kr — culSelectDetail.do
- • wikidata.org — Q1267748
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Ninox japonica 362852852 (cropped).jpg
- • species.nibr.go.kr — mainHome.do
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Rachel T Mason · CC0 1.0 (Congeneric silhouette — Ninox strenua)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.