Calling all Ruru: quor-coo quor-coo
With thanks to https://www.thebigidea.nz/showcase/208958-morepork-owl
“Crystal bright stars, the air still, and that quor-coo cry of native owls on shore, it’s so familiar, RON.”
“MIN, those birds are called Ruru,” RON whispered. “They’re looked upon as watchful guardians. If their call changes to a high-pitched yelp, be forewarned. A bad thing might happen.”
Our native owls - Ruru - are a source of symbolism for Māori
Their cry and watchful nature are tied with tapu, guardianship, forewarning, grief, and awareness. Because Ruru are nocturnal, in Māori tradition they belong to the spirit world.
A Ruru call is seen as a good sign, but a change to a high pitched, piercing yelp is thought to forewarn of bad news. Māori tradition says the ancestral spirit of a family can take on the form of a Ruru; which spirit is known as Hine-Ruru, the owl woman. It is believed the owl spirits can act as kaitiaki or guardians that have the power to protect, warn and advise.
See Māori and Birds of Prey / Ruru in Māori Mythology on https://www.wingspan.co.nz/.
Ruru are also known as Morepork and Tasmanian Spotted Owl
They are raptors found throughout New Zealand and Tasmania.
Dark brown plumage allows these nocturnal birds of prey to not be seen in darkness. Their quor-coo cry can be heard in our forests at dusk and through the night, but you will not hear them fly. Soft fringes on the edge of their wing feathers help them move their wings silently and sneak up on prey. Their brown and white speckled feathers are great camouflage. Their yellow eyes stare almost unblinking from a dark face. Female Ruru are bigger than male Ruru and all Ruru have a short tail.
Listen to Ruru on line Morepork/Ruru song (MP3, 1,620K).
Their quor-coo call introduces Ruru to MIN as it was to the author of JAK-73 chasing freedom…
It was late in the day, the light was fading, and I was waiting with a friend for our men folk to come out of the bush after a day tramping. We heard them call, “Yoo-hoo!” I called back so they would know where we were. There were several exchanges of calls. Each time they were a little nearer to where we waited. Until … you’ve probably guessed … I was answering the quor-coo call of a Ruru, mistaken for yoo-hoo. Oops!
Forests and offshore islands are habitats of Ruru
Ruru can also visit urban parks and well-treed town suburbs. Jean saw one in a reserve close to her home and another lived in an old tree just 150 metres from her previous home. An earthquake broughtthat tree crashing down and the Ruru sang no more. Jean likes to believe it flew away safely.
A day in the life of a ruru …
A bird of prey catches prey with its feet. Like New Zealand falcons, Ruru eat live prey, killing with sharp talons and beaks. Using super sharp hearing Ruru swivel their head around through 270o to locate good tucker. Ruru hunt at dusk and in the night for fresh food: for invertebrates like weta, beetles, moths and spiders, and for vertebrates such as small birds and rodents. In daytime, they roost in holes in trees, in thick vegetation, or in epiphytes (a plant that grows on another plant, often up high), and among rocks and tree roots above ground.
Nesting is safest up high where most predators cannot reach. A female Ruru may lay three eggs, although it is usually two. Her mate brings her food while she incubates their eggs, and she stays nest-bound until her owlets are fully feathered and ready to leave the nest 37 to 42 days after they came out of their shell.
Ruru are relatively common, but it is thought numbers may be falling due to predators and loss of habitat. A nesting female is vulnerable to killers like stoats and possums, and eggs and chicks are at risk from rats. Ruru may also be threatened by poison accumulating in their bodies because the live prey they eat may have ingested poison that has accumulated in their bodies. Poison can accumulate in this way down the food chain.
Ways to help protect Ruru include leaving old trees standing and planting new natives for nesting.
Little Owls Athene noctua vidalii
Little Owls are a small raptor found in open South Island habitats, and pockets of Fiordland and Westland, perched on fence posts or wood piles by day. Introduced to control small birds feeding on orchard trees and crops, it turned out Little Owls prefer insects. They nest in trees, wood piles and old sheds. One nest was found in a rabbit hole. No, not the White Rabbit’s hole down which Alice in Wonderland fell into a strange world!
Little Owls’ plumage is paler than Ruru, grey-brown rather than dark-brown, but with very distinctive cream markings front and back. Their call is described as quee or kiew and can be mistaken for that of a kiwi.
See Wingspan https://www.wingspan.co.nz/introduced_bird_of_prey_new_zealand_little_owl.html
There are many types of owl around the world making lots of different calls:
For more information see https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/413503-Ninox-novaeseelandiae-novaeseelandiae and http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/morepork
** Wingspan Birds of Prey Trust cares for sick, injured and orphaned raptors, undertakes research and
captive breeding and raises public awareness. Sometimes it has a Ruru. See https://www.wingspan.co.nz/
** Marlborough Falcon Trust https://www.mfct.org.nz/
Call 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468) immediately if you see anyone catching, harming or killing native wildlife.