Laughing owl

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,[4] or the white-faced owl, is an extinct species of owl that was endemic to New Zealand. Plentiful when European settlers arrived in New Zealand, its scientific description was published in 1845, but it was largely or completely extinct by 1914. The species was traditionally considered to belong to the monotypic genus Sceloglaux Kaup, 1848 ("scoundrel owl", probably because of the mischievous-sounding calls), although recent genetic studies indicate that it belongs with the boobook owls in the genus Ninox.

  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.