CreatureData

Northern boobook

Ninox japonica (Temminck & Schlegel, 1845)

LCLeast Concernowls

The northern boobook (Ninox japonica) is a species in the family Strigidae, order Strigiformes. Recorded adults weigh 186 g to 225 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Northern boobook (Ninox japonica)
Photo: muangpaisuetrong · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the northern boobook

Weight
186 g – 225 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
forestsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
24 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
3.2src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Migratorysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the northern boobook live?

Not recorded

What is the northern boobook?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The northern boobook (Ninox japonica) belongs to the family Strigidae (true owls) and is a raptorial owl endemic to eastern and southern countries of Asia. The species was considered, until recently, a conspecific of Ninox scutulata or brown boobook, a species of similar distribution encompassing 11 subspecies. The species currently includes two subspecies, the migrant Ninox japonica japonica and the non-migrant Ninox japonica totogo. Despite being considered as the most common breeding owl in Japan, little research has been conducted on the species and subspecies and the taxonomic classification of N. j. totogo and N. j. japonica has been a subject of debate. There are no indications of significant decline in northern boobook populations and therefore its conservation status has been classified as least concern by the IUCN Red List.

From the Wikipedia article “Northern boobook” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Northern_boobook&oldid=1380704972), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the northern boobook endangered?

The northern boobook is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.

How is the northern boobook classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderStrigiformes
  5. familyStrigidae
  6. genusNinox
  7. SpeciesNinox japonica (Temminck & Schlegel, 1845)

Synonyms Strix hirsuta japonica, Strix japonica

Other names and names in other languages (40)
  • Northern BoobokEnglish
  • Northern BoobokEnglish
  • Northern BoobokEnglish
  • nínox borealCatalan
  • sovka severníCzech
  • Japansk HøgeugleDanish
  • Orientalsk høgeugleDanish
  • JapankauzGerman
  • Nördlicher BoobookkauzGerman
  • japania nizostrigoEsperanto
  • Nínox japonésSpanish
  • japaninhaukkapöllöFinnish
  • Ninoxe boréaleFrench
  • istočnoazijska ćukušaCroatian
  • Pungguk utaraIndonesian
  • Gufastore giapponeseItalian
  • Gufastore settentrionaleItalian
  • アオバズクJapanese
  • 솔부엉이Korean
  • šiaurinė aštrianagė pelėdaLithuanian
  • ziemeļu vanagpūceLatvian
  • nordfalkugleNorwegian Bokmål
  • Noord-Aziatische ValkuilDutch
  • Noord-Aziatische BoeboekuilDutch
  • falkugleNorwegian
  • sowica północnaPolish
  • mocho-japonêsPortuguese
  • coruja-gavião-japonesaPortuguese
  • Иглоногая соваRussian
  • Японская иглоногая соваRussian
  • sovka prelietaváSlovak
  • Severni bubukSerbian
  • nordlig spökugglaSwedish
  • นกเค้าเหยี่ยวพันธุ์เหนือThai
  • Japon BubuğuTurkish
  • сова-голконіг японськаUkrainian
  • 北鹰鸮Chinese
  • 北方鷹鴞Chinese
  • 日本鹰鸮Chinese
  • 褐鷹鴞Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the northern boobook

Other species in the same genus Ninox.

LC, Least Concern
Morepork (Ninox novaeseelandiae)

Morepork

Ninox novaeseelandiae

Strigidae

CompareNorthern boobook vs Brown boobookNorthern boobook vs MoreporkNorthern boobook vs Powerful owlNorthern boobook vs Barking owl

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the northern boobook?

An adult northern boobook weighs 186 g – 225 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the northern boobook endangered?

The northern boobook is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the northern boobook?

The northern boobook (Ninox japonica) belongs to the family Strigidae in the order Strigiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

Embed a card for this animal on your own site

Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.

Preview the card

APA

CreatureData. (2026). Northern boobook (Ninox japonica). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/northern-boobook

MLA

“Northern boobook (Ninox japonica).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/northern-boobook.

BibTeX
@misc{northern_boobook_2026,
  title = {Northern boobook (Ninox japonica)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/northern-boobook},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}