Laughing Owl - Extinction

Extinction

By 1880, the species was becoming rare, and the last recorded specimen was found dead at Bluecliffs Station in Canterbury, New Zealand on July 5, 1914 (Worthy, 1997). There have been unconfirmed reports 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. An unidentified bird was heard flying overhead and giving "a most unusual weird cry which might almost be described as maniacal" at Saddle Hill, Fiordland, in February 1956 (Hall-Jones, 1960), and Laughing Owl egg fragments were apparently found in Canterbury in 1960 (Williams & Harrison, 1972).

Extinction was caused by persecution (mainly for specimens), land use changes, and the introduction of predators such as cats and stoats. It was generally accepted until the late 20th century that the species' disappearance was 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). However, since the kiore is itself an introduced animal, the Laughing Owl originally preyed on small birds, reptiles and bats, and later probably utilized introduced mice as well. Direct predation on this unwary and gentle-natured bird seems much more likely to have caused the species' extinction. A comprehensive review of the species' decline and disappearance is presented by Williams & Harrison (1972).