Laughing owl

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Laughing owl
Live N. a. albifacies specimen photographed between 1889 and 1910

Extinct (1914) (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Strigiformes
Family: Strigidae
Genus: Ninox
Species:
N. albifacies
Binomial name
Ninox albifacies
(Gray, GR, 1844)
Subspecies
  • N. a. albifacies
    (South Island laughing owl)
  • N. a. rufifacies
    (North Island laughing owl)
Range of N. albifacies
  Extinct
Synonyms

Sceloglaux albifacies, Ieraglaux albifacies, Athene albifacies

The laughing owl (Ninox albifacies), also known as whēkau, the jackass,

boobook owls in the genus Ninox
.

Taxonomy

N. a. rufifacies

The laughing owl was originally described as Athene albifacies by George Robert Gray in 1844, based on a specimen from Waikouaiti, South Island.[5] The type specimen is held at the British Museum (Reg. no. 1845.1.13.5).[6]

The species was later transferred by

boobook owls in the genus Ninox, as N. albifacies.[8]

Two subspecies of laughing owl have been described. In the

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

Stewart Island/Rakiura
in or around 1881.

Scientific specimens

Phylogeny

Laughing owls and moreporks in a taxidermy exhibition, Burton Brothers photographic studio, 1889

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.[8] 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.[8]

Description

Male laughing owl mount from the collection of Naturalis Biodiversity Centre

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 35.5–40 cm (14-15.7 in) and wing length 26.4 cm (10.4 in), with males being smaller than females. Weight was around 600 g.

Vocalisations

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.[11]

Ecology and behaviour

N. a. albifacies by John Gerrard Keulemans, 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.[12]
Knowledge of their diet, and how that diet changed over time, is preserved in
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.[13]

The owls' diet generally reflected the communities of small animals in the area, taking

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.[14]


Reproduction

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 44-51 by 38–43 mm (1.7-2" x 1.5-1.7"). Incubation took 25 days, with the male feeding the female on the nest.

Extinction

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

Saddle Hill, Fiordland, in February 1952,[19] and laughing owl egg fragments were apparently found in Canterbury in 1960.[20]

Extinction was caused by persecution (mainly for specimens), land use changes, and 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.

References

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2012). "Sceloglaux albifacies". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  2. ^ "Sceloglaux albifacies rufifacies. NZTCS". nztcs.org.nz. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  3. ^ "Sceloglaux albifacies albifacies. NZTCS". nztcs.org.nz. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  4. ^ McLintock, A. H. (1975). The History of Otago (2nd ed.). Christchurch: Capper Press. p. 22.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  5. ^ Richardson, John; Richardson, John; Gray, John Edward; Ross, James Clark; Erebus (Ship); Terror (Ship) (1844). 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. Vol. 1. London: E. W. Janson.
  6. ^ Warren, Rachel L.M. (1966). Type-specimens of birds in the British Museum (Natural History). Vol. 1. London: British Museum (Natural History).
  7. ^ "Sceloglaux Albifacies*. — (Laughing-Owl.) | NZETC". nzetc.victoria.ac.nz. Retrieved 2024-01-09.
  8. ^
    ISSN 0024-4082
    .
  9. ^ a b Worthy, Trevor (1997-01-01). "A survey of historical Laughing Owl (Sceloglaux albifacies) specimens in museum collections". Notornis. 44: 241–252.
  10. ^ Greenway, James (1967). Extinct and Vanishing Birds of the World. Dover Publications.
  11. ^ Buller, Walter Lawry (1905-01-01). Supplement to the 'Birds of New Zealand'. Vol. 2.
  12. .
  13. ^ *Worthy, Trevor H. (2001): A fossil vertebrate fauna accumulated by laughing owls (Sceloglaux albifacies) on the Gouland Downs, northwest Nelson, South Island. Notornis 48(4): 223-233. PDF fulltext
  14. ^ Pilgrim, R. L. C. & Palma, R. L. (1982): A list of the chewing lice (Insecta: Mallophaga) from birds in New Zealand. Notornis 29(Supplement): 1-33. PDF fulltext
  15. ^ Worthy, Trevor H. (1997): A survey of historical Laughing Owl (Sceloglaux albifacies) specimens in museum collections. Notornis 44(4): 241–252. PDF fulltext
  16. ^ Paul, R. St; McKenzie, H. R. (1977-01-01). "A bushman's seventeen years of noting birds. Part F - Notes on other native birds (Conclusion of series)". Notornis. 24 (2): 65–74.
  17. ^ Blackburn, A. (1982-01-01). "A 1927 record of the Laughing Owl". Notornis. 29 (1): 79.
  18. .
  19. ^ Hall-Jones, John (1960): Rare Fiordland birds. Notornis 8(7): 171-172. PDF fulltext
  20. ^ Williams, G. R. & Harrison, M. (1972): The Laughing Owl Sceloglaux albifacies (Gray. 1844): A general survey of a near-extinct species. Notornis 19(1): 4-19. PDF fulltext

Illustration gallery

Specimen gallery

Further reading

External links

Media related to Ninox albifacies at Wikimedia Commons