NATURE NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 17, 21 July 1928, Page 17

NATURE NOTES

THE LAUGHING OWL A RARE NEW ZEALAND BIRO (By E. H. D. Stidolph, E.A.O.TJ.) For many years the laughing owlj the larger of New Zealand's two native | species of noctural birds of prey, has been regarded as one. at the most rare of the Dominion's birds. Mr. E.. F. Stead, of Christchurch, however, has a record of its occurrence iv Canterbury about four years ago, and he was informed that one was also seen in I9_!G' south-west of Lake Te Anau. In any' case, it is seldom that this interesting bird is reported these days; in fact, its extinction was anticipated before very long many years ago. Even the late Sir Walter Buller, writing in 1882, regarded the bird at that time as one of the rarest species. He put forth tho theory that; the native rat, which he said had ■fcLejen' exterminated" and replaced by the'introduced Norway rat, formerly abounded in all wooded parts of. the country, and being a ground feeder, subsisting almost entirely on tho fallen mast of the tawa, hinau, towai, and other forest trees, would therefore fall an easy prey to the laughing owl. "The fact," he wrote,' "that the extinction of the native rat has been followed by the almost total disappearance of this singular bird ap-' pears to warrant the conclusion that, the one constituted-the principal sup-, port of the other." Sir Walter Buller apparently overlooked the 'generally accepted supposition that the so-called native rat was introduced by the' Maoris. What, -then; did.the laughing owl subsist on before the introduction of this rat? A more natural conclusion; would be that the food supply of the owl has bpen: vastly, increased by tho settlement of the. country. Large beetles are also'said to be. included in its bill of fare. ■•-.'.'■•'■ The laughing owlis, or was, sometimes called by the settlers the "laughing jackass," in allusion to its cry, and by the Maoris it was named the whekau. The bird was originally described in 1844 by Mr. C. B. Gray, in the "Voyage of the Erebus and Termor," from a specimen obtained at Waikouaiti, in the' South Island. In colour the laughingowl is brown, spotted with fulvous on the breast, and streaked with the same colour on the back. The tail is barred. with fulvous and the feathers on_ the legs are pale rufous white. Sometimes the greater part of the facial 'disc-it, white. In length it is about sixteen inches from the tip of its bill to the end of its tail. This owl is now. confined to the-South Island,' but formerly the-same bird, or a very" closely related species or, a sub-species, inhabited the North Island. In fact, the late Sir Walter Buller described as a; separate species a bird obtained in the Wairarapa in the summer of 1868-69, and sent to the Museum at Wellington. The main point of difference in compari-on with the South Island bird was that: there was no white about the face, tho whole of the facial disc, including the ear coverts and the throat, being dull rufous brown.. On that account tho bird was named: the rufous-faced owl. A report is extant that a spcei-, men of this bird was obtained on Mount Egmont in "the early days, probably about 1855. The late Mr. Morgan Carkeek assured Sir Walter Buller that he saw one of these owls when surveying on the Porirua Harbour. On entering an abandoned Maori hut in -tho daytime he found one roosting thereIt was very'tame and remained thero several days. He brought, it food from time to time, and it made no attempt to escape from the hut. :To the Maoris of his survey party it was. quite a new bird. The late Mr. J.C. M'Lean, of Gisborne, also believed- that he saw one of these birds at Waikohu, Te Karaka, in July, 1889. He disturbed it while leading his horse through tall, heavy manuka, and was perfectly satisfied that it was quite distinct from the morepork. The Maori name for this bird in the North Island was hakokc. Sir Walter Buller, who had two of. these birds in captivity, stated that they were remarkably docile and gentle,-, allowing themselves to be handled, freely without any attempt to bite or use their claws. Beferring to the male bird, he said that during the day it had a listless, dazed look, and generally kept its eyes partly closed. The only occasion on which he saw it awake from this lethargy was when hebrought a live hawk near to the wire netting of its enclosure.'lt did not then manifest any excitement or alarm, but slowly raised itself up to its full height two or threo times in succession, with the feathers of the head puffed out and the eyes opened to their full extent, aa if in silent wonderment at! so strange an apparition.. Both birds exhibited the same natural docility, he stated. Oa being taken hold of by< the feet they Would offer no resistance.and utter no sound, but would simply; flap/ their winga slowly and turn their dark orbs full into the face of their captor. They ate sparingly of their food (lean muttoa or sliced ox heart) and always at night. During tho time they were in Sir Walter Buller's possession he never heard then* emit any sound..- - Writing to Sir Walter Buller previous to 1905, Mr. Wr W. Smith, then of Ashburton, stated that the laughing owl inhabited that district plentifully forty years previously, but had then entirely disappeared. He reported that he had gathered the castings for milci around, buried in tho :sand or dust covering the bottom of. fissures in tha' rocks. Ho attributed its final disappearance to the introduction by ths Government of the weasel for the suppression of the rabbit nuisance. 11l 1903 Mr. Smith stated that his last visit to Albury, on the Tengawai River, •resulted in a long and unsuccessful search for specimens of this bird. Although ho found castings, which were probably one or two years ejected, he could not find any fresh signs of tha _species. The district, he stated, was now closely settled, and sheep roam in large flocks among tho limestone rocki the birds formerly inhabited. The residents of the district informed him thea that they rarely heard the laughter-liko call of this once common owl: