What happened to the laughing owl?
Laughing owl (Sceloglaux albifacies), an extinct bird of the family Strigidae (order Strigiformes) that was native to New Zealand. It was last seen in the early 1900s. Laughing owls nested on the ground, where they fell prey to cats, rats, goats, and weasels.
What kind of owl is laughing owl?
laughing owl, ( Sceloglaux albifacies ), an extinct bird of the family Strigidae (order Strigiformes) that was native to New Zealand. It was last seen in the early 1900s.
What does a laughing owl eat?
Laughing owl. It was last seen in the early 1900s. Laughing owls nested on the ground, where they fell prey to cats, rats, goats, and weasels. About 40 cm (1.3 feet) long and brownish in colour, they ate rodents, lizards, and insects.
Why is the Owl population declining so fast?
Though the owl was originally plentiful when European settlers arrived, human activity caused the animal's numbers to decline steeply. Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.
Are laughing owl extinct?
ExtinctLaughing owl / Extinction statuslaughing owl, (Sceloglaux albifacies), an extinct bird of the family Strigidae (order Strigiformes) that was native to New Zealand. It was last seen in the early 1900s. Laughing owls nested on the ground, where they fell prey to cats, rats, goats, and weasels.
What did the laughing owl look like?
About twice the size of a morepork, the laughing owl had striking brown and white striations and a very stumpy tail. It was named after its call – a loud and 'doleful' cack cack cack, which has been described variously as the laughter of a mad man, or a peculiar barking noise like that of a small dog.
What owls are extinct?
Not extinctOwls / Extinction status
Why is it called a laughing owl?
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.
What famous bird is extinct?
The dodoThe dodo is frequently cited as one of the most well-known examples of human-induced extinction and also serves as a symbol of obsolescence with respect to human technological progress.
What did the laughing owl eat?
The laughing owl was a nocturnal, generalist predator. Prior to human settlement it fed on small- to medium-sized birds, frogs, bats, lizards, juvenile tuatara, and larger insects.
What is the rarest owl?
The Cloud Forest Pygmy owl – Originates in South America and is deemed extremely vulnerable. The Blakinston's fish owl – Arguably the rarest owl in the world. The Bornean Rajah Scops owl – Which has made a fascinating reappearance in the last 10 years.
What is the 2nd largest owl in the world?
The Eurasian eagle-owlThe Eurasian eagle-owl is the second-largest owl in the world if we are looking at wingspan. Snowy owls are also very large, even though they do not weigh much. They only weigh 4.5 lbs and have a wingspan of about 4.4-4.8 ft.
What's the world's largest owl?
Blakiston fish owlThe Blakiston fish owl (Bubo Blakistoni) is the world's largest – and one of the rarest – owl species, with an impressive 6 foot (2 meter) wingspan.
What happens when an owl laughs?
The melodic hooting of barred owls is often described as, “Who cooks for you, who cooks for you all?” Barred owls are called laughing owls as they have an ability to make loud cawing and caterwauling sounds. When a group gets the “laughter” going, it can sound frightening to someone who is unfamiliar with the bird.
When did owls become endangered?
The northern spotted owl was first listed as threatened in 1990, which led to logging restrictions and paved the way for the Northwest Forest Plan, which reduced logging on national forests and other federal forests by more than 80%.
Are there flightless owls?
It was a flightless or nearly flightless bird and it is believed to be the largest owl that ever existed. It lived on the island of Cuba....Ornimegalonyx.Cuban giant owl Temporal range: Late PleistoceneFamily:StrigidaeGenus:†Ornimegalonyx Arredondo, 1954Species7 more rows
What is the meaning of Sceloglaux?
laughing owl( noun ) : laughing owl , laughing jackass , Sceloglaux albifacies , owl , bird of Minerva , bird of night , hooter.
Are there flightless owls?
It was a flightless or nearly flightless bird and it is believed to be the largest owl that ever existed. It lived on the island of Cuba....Ornimegalonyx.Cuban giant owl Temporal range: Late PleistoceneFamily:StrigidaeGenus:†Ornimegalonyx Arredondo, 1954Species7 more rows
Why did the laughing owl disappear?
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 ).
Where did the laughing owl come from?
Plentiful when European settlers arrived in New Zealand, its scientific description was published in 1845, but it was largely or completely extinct by 1914.
What genus is a Scoundrel Owl?
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.
When was the last time the North Island had a laughing owl?
Unconfirmed reports have been made since then; the last (unconfirmed) North Island records were in 1925 and 1927, at the Wairaumoana branch of Lake Waikaremoana (St. Paul & McKenzie, 1977; Blackburn, 1982). In his book The Wandering Naturalist, Brian Parkinson describes reports of a laughing owl in the Pakahi near Opotiki in the 1940s.
What color are laughing owls?
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.
How many species of birds are in the Gouland Downs?
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.
What do owls eat?
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.
Laughing Owl
The Laughing Owl (Sceloglaux Albifacies), also known as Whēkau or the White-Faced Owl, is an extinct species of owl that was native to New Zealand.
Extinction
Though the owl was originally plentiful when European settlers arrived, human activity caused the animal's numbers to decline steeply.
Where do laughing owls live?
Originally found throughout New Zealand, but by the time Europeans arrived laughing owls were only recorded south of a line from Taranaki to East Cape in the North Island, and in Nelson, Marlborough, east of the main divide in the South Island, and on Stewart Island. Laughing owls lived in both open country and forested areas. They roosted in caves or fissures in rock faces and on rock ledges.
What is the laughing owl's call?
The common name of the laughing owl referred to its call, described by a contemporary naturalist as a “loud cry made up of a series of dismal shrieks frequently repeated.” The birds were still common in the South Island in the mid-1800s, but declined rapidly thereafter. The last confirmed record was a dead specimen from South Canterbury found in 1914, but sight and sound records continued to be reported from both islands into the 1930s. Laughing owls coexisted with early European settlement, but the introduction of stoats, ferrets, and weasels is thought to have led to their extinction.
What is the genus of laughing owls?
The laughing owl was originally placed in the monotypic genus Sceloglaux, but recent genetic analysis showed that it is nested within the genus Ninox and the authors recommended that it be referred to as Ninox albifacies. This recommendation is under consideration by the Birds New Zealand Checklist Committee.
Overview
The laughing owl (Ninox albifacies), also known as whēkau or the white-faced owl, was an endemic owl of 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", probabl…
Taxonomy
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 subf…
Description
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 wer…
Ecology and behaviour
Laughing owls generally occupied rocky, low-rainfall areas and also 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. Knowledge …
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 Bluecliffs Station in Canterbury, New Zealand on July 5, 1914. 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 (St. Paul & McKenzie, 1977; Blackburn, 1982). In his book The Wandering Naturalist, Brian Parkinson desc…
Further reading
• Blackburn, A. (1982): A 1927 record of the Laughing Owl. Notornis 29(1): 79. PDF fulltext
• Buller, Walter L. (1905): Supplement to the 'Birds of New Zealand' (2 volumes). Published by the author, London.
• Fuller, Errol (2000): Extinct Birds (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press, Oxford, New York. ISBN 0-19-850837-9
External links
• Olliver, Narena. 2000. "Whekau, The Laughing Owl". NZbirds.com
• Images of Laughing Owls in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
• Wingspan Birds of Prey Trust