The Mindoro hawk-owl or Mindoro boobook (Ninox mindorensis ) is a species of owl in the family Strigidae that is endemic to the Philippines.
EBird describes the bird as "A fairly small owl of lowland and foothill forest and woodland. Rather dark brown on the head and back and reddish-brown on the chest, with bright yellow eyes and thin white eyebrows forming a V. Mindoro Scops-Owl is similar in size and color, but Mindoro Boobook is finely barred all over. Much smaller than Chocolate Boobook, without white on the chest. Song is a fairly high-pitched, descending mournful whistle, “wiiiiuuuuu."
Among the species complex. It is distinguished by its fine barring on its head and belly and its overall darker plummage.
The Mindoro hawk-owl is an earless species. The males and females look much alike. The Mindoro hawk-owl is one of the smallest in the Philippine hawk-owl complex.
It is medium sized along the Sulu hawk-owl within Philippine hawk-owl species complex at 20cm tall. This is in between the larger Camiguin hawk-owl, Romblon hawk-owl and Cebu hawk-owls at 25cm and the smaller Luzon hawk-owl and Mindanao hawk-owl which are 15-18cm tall.
Its habitat is in tropical moist lowland primary and secondary forests up to 1250 meters above sea level. It is also occasionally seen on forest edge, clearings and plantations.
The IUCN Red List classifies this bird as vulnerable with population estimates of 2,500 to 9,999 mature individuals. This species' main threat is habitat loss with wholesale clearance of forest habitats as a result of legal and illegal logging, mining, conversion into farmlands urbanization. Lowland forest destruction has eradicated almost all of this bird's habitat. In 1988, just 120 km2 of forest remained on Mindoro, only 25% of which was closed-canopy.
It occurs in a few protected areas in Mt. iglit-Baco National Park (which is also the stronghold of the critically endangered Tamaraw) and Naujan Lake National Park/
There are no species specific conservation programs going on at the moment but conservation actions proposed include more species surveys to better understand habitat and population. initiate education and awareness campaigns to raise the species's profile and instill pride in locals. Lobby for protection of remaining forest.
