Friday, 24 October 2014

Boobook

Word of the Day for Friday 24th October 2014


Boobook \BOO-book, -book\
Noun
1. A small, reddish-brown spotted owl, Ninox boobook, native to Australia and New Zealand.
Quotes
It has large, staring eyes that are brilliant yellow, not greenish-toned as in Southern Boobook, which usually displays obvious dark markings (rather like black-eye bruises) around the eyes that are absent in the larger Barking Owl.
-- Iain Campbell, Sam Woods, Nick Leseberg, Birds of Australia, 2014
Origin
Boobook comes from Dharuk, a now-extinct Australian aboriginal language. The word is said to be imitative of the sound the bird makes.

Thanks to: www.dictionary.com

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