Data Zone
Justification of Red List category
This species was found in New Zealand, but it is now Extinct, probably as a result of predation and habitat conversion. The last confirmed record was of the nominate subspecies in 1914, though photographic evidence suggests it existed until at least the 1920s.
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).
This species was endemic to New Zealand with the nominate race on the South and Stewart Islands and the subspecies rufifacies on the North Island.
The species roosted and nested among rocks in open country and on forest edge (Williams and Harrison 1972).
Causes of the species' extinction are obscure, though its extinction was likely driven by predation by introduced mammals and habitat modification through grazing or burning (Williams and Harrison 1972, Hume 2017).
Text account compilers
Vine, J.
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.