• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic note
Previously placed in monotypic genus Sceloglaux but moved to Ninox following Wood et al. (2017) and Salter et al. (2020). Geographical variation questionable, and size differences perhaps clinal; rufifacies sometimes synonymized with albifacies. Two subspecies tentatively recognized.

Taxonomic source(s)
Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International. 2022. Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 7. Available at: https://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v7_Dec22.zip.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
D	D	D1

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2024	Extinct
2016	Extinct
2012	Extinct
2008	Extinct
2004	Extinct
2000	Extinct
1994	Extinct
1988	Extinct

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	low
Land-mass type		Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	0 mature individuals	good	estimated	-
Population trend		-	-	-
Generation length	3.98 years	-	-	-

Population justification: No extant population remains.

Trend justification: The species was apparently not uncommon until the first half of the 19th century, but were becoming rare by the 1840s. The last specimens of rufifacies were collected in 1889, with unconfirmed reports until the 1930s, and of albifacies, in 1914, though photographic evidence has shown it existed until at least the 1920s, with unconfirmed reports until the 1960s (Williams and Harrison 1972, Tennyson and Martinson 2006, Hume 2017).

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
New Zealand	extinct	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Forest	Temperate	major	resident
Grassland	Temperate	major	resident
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks)		suitable	resident
Altitude		Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching - Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Unlikely to Return		Unknown		Unknown		Past Impact
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Unspecified species	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Unlikely to Return		Unknown		Unknown		Past Impact
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Natural system modifications	Fire & fire suppression - Increase in fire frequency/intensity	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Unlikely to Return		Unknown		Unknown		Past Impact
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation

---

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Laughing Owl Ninox albifacies. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/laughing-owl-ninox-albifacies on 18/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 18/12/2024.