LAUGHING OWL

(Sceloglaux albifacies), an endangered, possibly extinct, bird of the family Strigidae (order Strigiformes), limited in distribution to South Island, N.Z. It disappeared from North Island in the late 1800s. Laughing owls nest on the ground, where they fall prey to cats, rats, and weasels. About 40 centimetres (about 1.3 feet) long and brownish in colour, they eat rodents, lizards, and insects.