laughing owl

File:Sceloglaux albifacies rufifacies.jpg

The laughing owl was originally described as Athene albifacies by George Robert Gray in 1844, based on a specimen from Waikouaiti, South Island.{{Cite book |last1=Richardson |first1=John |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/31178 |title=The zoology of the voyage of the H.M.S. Erebus & Terror, under the command of Captain Sir James Clark Ross, during the years 1839 to 1843. By authority of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty |last2=Richardson |first2=John |last3=Gray |first3=John Edward |last4=Ross |first4=James Clark |last5=Erebus (Ship) |last6=Terror (Ship) |date=1844 |publisher=E. W. Janson |volume=1 |location=London}} The type specimen is held at the British Museum (Reg. no. 1845.1.13.5).{{Cite book |last=Warren |first=Rachel L.M. |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/35377 |title=Type-specimens of birds in the British Museum (Natural History) |publisher=British Museum (Natural History) |year=1966 |volume=1 |location=London}}

The species was later transferred by Johann Jakob Kaup to other genera, first to the monotypic genus Sceloglaux (as S. albifacies) in 1848 and later to Ieraglaux (as I. albifacies) in 1852.{{Cite web |title=Sceloglaux Albifacies*. — (Laughing-Owl.) {{!}} NZETC |url=https://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-BulBird-t1-g1-t1-body-d0-d50.html |access-date=2024-01-09 |website=nzetc.victoria.ac.nz}} Recent genetic studies now include it with the boobook owls in the genus Ninox, as N. albifacies.{{Cite journal |last1=Wood |first1=Jamie R. |last2=Mitchell |first2=Kieren J. |last3=Scofield |first3=R. Paul |last4=De Pietri |first4=Vanesa L. |last5=Rawlence |first5=Nicolas J. |last6=Cooper |first6=Alan |date=August 2016 |title=Phylogenetic relationships and terrestrial adaptations of the extinct laughing owl, Sceloglaux albifacies (Aves: Strigidae) |journal=Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society |language=en |doi=10.1111/zoj.12483 |issn=0024-4082}}

Two subspecies of laughing owl have been described. In the North Island, specimens of the smaller subspecies N. a. rufifacies were allegedly collected from the forest districts of Mount Taranaki (1856) and the Wairarapa (1868); the unclear history of the latter and the eventual disappearance of both led to suspicions that the bird may not have occurred in the North Island at all. This theory has been refuted, however, after ample subfossil bones of the species were found in the North Island. Sight records exist from Porirua and Te Karaka; according to Māori tradition, the species last occurred in Te Urewera.

In the South Island, the larger subspecies N. a. albifacies inhabited low rainfall districts, including Nelson, Canterbury, and Otago. They were also found in the central mountains and possibly Fiordland. Specimens of N. a. albifacies were collected from Stewart Island/Rakiura in or around 1881.

File:OR030062 Ninox albifacies Te Papa 1509641 375585.jpgThere are 57 body and 17 egg specimens in public collections.{{Cite journal |last=Worthy |first=Trevor |date=1997-01-01 |title=A survey of historical Laughing Owl (Sceloglaux albifacies) specimens in museum collections |url=https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q124220899 |journal=Notornis |volume=44 |pages=241–252}} Of these, either the specimen at NHMW )(no. 50.809) or one at the Universidad de Concepción is the likely type of N. a. rufifacies. Additional specimens are located at Cambridge, Massachusetts (probably Harvard Museum of Natural History) and Edinburgh (Royal Museum).{{Cite book |last=Greenway |first=James |url=https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q124221040 |title=Extinct and Vanishing Birds of the World |date=1967 |publisher=Dover Publications |isbn=978-0-486-21869-4 |lang=en}}

File:Laughing Owls and Moreporks.jpg

A 2016 study of the laughing owl's mitogenome concluded that the species does not belong to the monotypic genus Sceloglaux as previously thought, but instead belong to the genus Ninox. The analysis indicated that the laughing owl may be a sister taxon to the Ninox clade containing the barking owl, Sumba boobook, and morepork, the latter of which shared New Zealand with the laughing owl.

File:Naturalis Biodiversity Center - ZMA.AVES.1492 - Sceloglaux albifacies Gray, G.R., 1844 - Strigidae - skin specimen.jpeg

The laughing owl's plumage was yellowish-brown striped with dark brown. White straps were on the scapulars, and occasionally the hind neck. Mantle feathers were edged with white. The wings and tail had light-brown bars. The tarsus had yellowish to reddish-buff feathers. The facial disc was white behind and below the eyes, fading to grey with brown stripes towards the centre. Some birds were more rufous, with a brown facial disk; this was at first attributed to subspecific differences, but is probably better related to individual variation. Males were thought to be more often of the richly coloured morph (e.g. the Linz specimen OÖLM 1941/433). The eyes were very dark orange. Its length was {{cvt|35.5|–|40|cm|in}} and wing length {{cvt|26.4|cm|in}}, with males being smaller than females. Weight was around 600 g.

The call of the laughing owl has been described as "a loud cry made up of a series of dismal shrieks frequently repeated". The species was given its name because of this sound. Other descriptions of the call were: "A peculiar barking noise ... just like the barking of a young dog"; "Precisely the same as two men 'cooeying' to each other from a distance"; "A melancholy hooting note", or a high-pitched chattering, only heard when the birds were on the wing and generally on dark and drizzly nights or immediately preceding rain. Various whistling, chuckling and mewing notes were observed from a captive bird.

One correspondent claimed that laughing owls would be attracted by accordion play.{{Cite book |last=Buller |first=Walter Lawry |url=https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q124234076 |title=Supplement to the 'Birds of New Zealand' |date=1905-01-01 |volume=2 |lang=en}}

File:Keulemans Laughing Owl.jpg, drawn after living specimens owned by Walter Rothschild]]

Laughing owls generally occupied rocky, low-rainfall areas and also were found in forest districts in the North Island. Their diet was diverse, encompassing a wide range of prey items, from beetles and wētā up to birds and geckos of more than 250 g, and later on rats and mice. Laughing owls were apparently ground feeders, chasing prey on foot in preference to hunting on the wing.{{Cite journal|last1=Holdaway|first1=R.N.|last2=Worthy|first2=T.H.|date=1996|title=Diet and biology of the laughing owl Sceloglaux albifacies (Aves: Strigidae) on Takaka Hill, Nelson, New Zealand|journal=Journal of Zoology|volume=239: 545-572.|issue=3 |pages=545–572 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.1996.tb05942.x|doi-access=free}} Knowledge of their diet, and how that diet

changed over time, is preserved in fossil and subfossil deposits of their pellets. These pellets have been a great help to the palaeobiological concentrations of otherwise poorly preserved small bones: "Twenty-eight species of bird, a tuatara, three frogs, at least four geckos, a skink, two bats, and two fish contribute to the species diversity" found in a Gouland Downs roosting site's pellets.{{cite journal|author=Worthy, Trevor H. |year=2001|title= A fossil vertebrate fauna accumulated by laughing owls (Sceloglaux albifacies) on the Gouland Downs, northwest Nelson, South Island |journal=Notornis|volume=48|issue=4|pages= 223–233 |url=http://notornis.osnz.org.nz/system/files/Notornis_48_4_224.pdf}}

The owls' diet generally reflected the communities of small animals in the area, taking prions (small seabirds) where they lived near colonies, Coenocorypha snipe, kākāriki and even large earthworms. Once Pacific rats were introduced to New Zealand and began to reduce the number of native prey items, the laughing owl was able to switch to eating them, instead. They were still relatively common when European settlers arrived.

Being quite large, they were also able to deal with the introduced European rats that had caused the extinction of so much of their prey; however, the stoats introduced to control feral rabbits and feral cats were too much for the species.

Individuals of a bird louse of the genus Strigiphilus were found to parasitize laughing owls.{{cite journal|author=Pilgrim, R. L. C. |author2= Palma, R. L. |year=1982|title= A list of the chewing lice (Insecta: Mallophaga) from birds in New Zealand|journal=Notornis|volume=29|issue=(Supplement) |pages=1–33|url=http://notornis.osnz.org.nz/system/files/Notornis_29_sup.pdf}}

Breeding began in September or October. The nests were lined with dried grass and were on bare ground, in rocky ledges or fissures, or under boulders. Two white, roundish eggs were laid, measuring {{cvt|44-51|by|38|–|43|mm|in}}. Incubation took 25 days, with the male feeding the female on the nest.

By 1880, the species was becoming rare. Only a few specimens were collected due to its location. Soon, the last recorded specimen was found dead at Bluecliffs Station in Canterbury, New Zealand on July 5, 1914.{{cite journal|author=Worthy, Trevor H. |year=1997|title= A survey of historical Laughing Owl (Sceloglaux albifacies) specimens in museum collections|journal=Notornis|volume=44|issue=4|pages= 241–252 |url=http://notornis.osnz.org.nz/system/files/Notornis_44_4_241.pdf}}

Unconfirmed reports have been made since then; the last (unconfirmed) North Island records were in 1925 and 1926, at the Wairaumoana branch of Lake Waikaremoana.{{Cite journal |last1=Paul |first1=R. St |last2=McKenzie |first2=H. R. |date=1977-01-01 |title=A bushman's seventeen years of noting birds. Part F - Notes on other native birds (Conclusion of series) |url=https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q124239427 |journal=Notornis |volume=24 |issue=2 |pages=65–74}}{{Cite journal |last=Blackburn |first=A. |date=1982-01-01 |title=A 1927 record of the Laughing Owl |url=https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q124241071 |journal=Notornis |lang=en |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=79}} There are reports of a laughing owl in the Pakahi near Ōpōtiki in the 1940s.{{Cite book |last=Parkinson |first=Brian |url=https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q124241524 |title=The travelling naturalist around New Zealand |date=1989-01-01 |publisher=Century Hutchinson |isbn=978-1-86941-059-9 |lang=en}} An unidentified bird was heard flying overhead and giving "a most unusual weird cry which might almost be described as maniacal" at Saddle Hill, Fiordland, in February 1952,{{cite journal|author=Hall-Jones, John |year=1960|title= Rare Fiordland birds|journal=Notornis|volume=8|issue=7|pages= 171–172 |url=http://notornis.osnz.org.nz/system/files/Notornis_8_7.pdf}} and laughing owl egg fragments were apparently found in Canterbury in 1960.{{cite journal|author=Williams, G. R. |author2= Harrison, M. |year=1972|title= The Laughing Owl Sceloglaux albifacies (Gray. 1844): A general survey of a near-extinct species|journal=Notornis|volume=19|issue=1|pages= 4–19 |url=http://notornis.osnz.org.nz/system/files/Notornis_19_1.pdf}}

Extinction was caused by persecution (mainly for specimens), land use changes, and the introduction of predators such as cats and stoats. Until the late 20th century the species' disappearance was generally accepted to be due to competition by introduced predators for the kiore, or Pacific rat, a favorite prey of the laughing owl (an idea originally advanced by Walter Buller). However, since the kiore is itself an introduced animal, the laughing owl originally preyed on small birds, reptiles, and bats, and later probably used introduced mice, as well. Direct predation on this unwary and gentle-natured bird seems much more likely to have caused the species' extinction.

File:Naturalis_Biodiversity_Center_-_RMNH.AVES.110070_-_Sceloglaux_albifacies_albifacies_(Gray,_1844)_-_Laughing_Owl_-_specimen_-_lateral_view.jpeg

File:Naturalis_Biodiversity_Center_-_RMNH.AVES.110069_-_Sceloglaux_albifacies_albifacies_(Gray,_1844)_-_Laughing_Owl_-_specimen_-_lateral_view.jpeg

File:OR001778_Ninox_albifacies_albifacies_Te_Papa_630296_263370.jpg

File:OR010143_Ninox_albifacies_cf_albifacies_Te_Papa_630299_151892.jpg

File:OR030061_Ninox_albifacies_Te_Papa_1509640_375584.jpg

File:Keulemans,_John_Gerrard,_1842-1912_-Sceloglaux_albifacies._J._G._Keulemans_del._Mintern_Bros_Imp._(London,_1876)_(21421090028).jpg

File:Keulemans,_John_Gerrard_1842-1912_-Morepork,_Spiloglaux_novae-zealandiae;_Laughing_owl,_Sceloglaux_novae-zelandiae._(One-half_natural_size)._-_J._G._Keulemans_delt._and_lith._(Plate_XX._1888)._(21289771031).jpg

File:The_zoology_of_the_voyage_of_the_H.M.S._Erebus_and_Terror_(6257851283).jpg

File:Bird_illustration_by_Elizabeth_Gould_for_Birds_of_Australia,_digitally_enhanced_from_rawpixel%27s_own_facsimile_book602.jpg

File:Morepork_(Ruru)_and_Laughing_owl_(Whekau).jpg

• Fuller, Errol (2000): Extinct Birds (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press, Oxford, New York. {{ISBN|0-19-850837-9}}
• Lewis, Deane P. (2016): [http://www.owlpages.com/owls.php?genus=Sceloglaux&species=albifacies The Owl Pages: Laughing Owl Sceloglaux albifacies]. Revision as of 2016-01-29.
• Worthy, Trevor H. & Holdaway, Richard N. (2002): The Lost World of the Moa. Indiana University Press, Bloomington. {{ISBN|0-253-34034-9}}

{{Reflist}}

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• [https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/taxon/12341 Images of Laughing Owls] in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
• [http://www.wingspan.co.nz/extinct_birds_of_prey_new_zealand_laughing_owl.html Wingspan Birds of Prey Trust]
• Ninox albifacies discussed on RNZ Critter of the Week, [https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/2018914867/critter-of-the-week-wheku-laughing-owl-hakoke-or-korehengi 10 November 2023]

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laughing owl

Category:Extinct birds of New Zealand

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Category:Bird extinctions since 1500

Category:Species made extinct by human activities

laughing owl

laughing owl

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Category:Species that are or were threatened by specimen collection