STRIGIFORMES Owls

Symbols
➤ Indicates a species (cf. subspecies)
* Indicates a species (or other taxon) introduced to the New Zealand region
† Indicates an extinct taxon

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Order STRIGIFORMES: Owls

Regarding the following nomina dubia, see under genus Aegotheles Vigors & Horsfield:
Strix parvissima Ellman, 1861: Zoologist 19: 7465. Nomen dubium.
Strix parvissima Potts, 1871: Trans. N.Z. Inst. 3: 68 – Rangitata River, Canterbury. Nomen dubium.
Athene (Strix) parvissima Potts; Potts 1873, Trans. N.Z. Inst. 5: 172. Nomen dubium.

Family TYTONIDAE Ridgway: Barn Owls

Subfamily TYTONINAE Ridgway: Barn Owls

Tytonidae Ridgway, 1914: Bull. U.S. Nat. Mus. 50(6): 598 – Type genus: Tyto Billberg, 1828.

Genus Tyto Billberg

Strix Savigny, 1809: Descrip. Egypte Hist. Nat. 1: 69 – Type species (by monotypy) Strix flammea auctorum = Tyto alba (Scopoli). Junior homonym of Strix Linnaeus, 1758.

Aluco Fleming, 1822: Phil. Zool. 2: 236 – Type species (by monotypy) Strix flammea auctorum = Tyto alba (Scopoli). Junior homonym of Aluco Link, 1807.

Tyto Billberg, 1828: Syn. Faun. Scand. 1(2): tab. A – Type species (by monotypy) Strix alba Scopoli = Tyto alba (Scopoli).

Ulula Nitzsch, 1829: Obs. Avium Arter. Carot. Comm.: 20. Unnecessary nomen novum for Strix Savigny, 1809. Junior homonym of Ulula Cuvier, 1817.

Hybris Nitzsch, 1833: Pterylogr. Avium: 16 – Type species (by monotypy) Strix alba Scopoli = Tyto alba (Scopoli).

Flammea Fournel, 1836: Faune Moselle: 101 – Type species (by monotypy) Strix vulgaris Brehm = Tyto alba (Scopoli).

Eustrinx Webb, Berthelot & Moquin-Tandon, 1841: Hist. Nat. Iles Canaries 2: 8. Unnecessary nomen novum for Strix Savigny, 1809.

Stridula Selys-Longchamps, 1842: Faune Belg.: 60 – Type species (by monotypy) Stridula flammea Selys-Longchamps = Tyto alba (Scopoli).

Glyphidiura Reichenbach, 1850: Avium Syst. Nat.: pl. 92 – Type species (by subsequent designation) Strix perlata Lichtenstein = Tyto alba tuidara (J.E. Gray).

Glaux Blyth, 1851: Journ. Asiatic Soc. Bengal. 19(7): 513 – Type species (by monotypy) Strix candida Tickell = Tyto capensis longimembris (Jerdon). Junior homonym of Glaux Rylands, 1836.

Scelostrix Kaup, 1852: Jardine’s Contrib. Ornith.: 119 – Type species (by monotypy) Strix candida Tickell = Tyto capensis longimembris (Jerdon).

Dactylostrix Kaup, 1852: Jardine’s Contrib. Ornith.: 119 – Type species (by monotypy) Strix castanops Gould = Tyto novaehollandiae castanops (Gould).

Strigymnhemipus Des Murs, 1853: Chenu’s Encycl. Hist. Nat., Oiseaux 1: 146 – Type species (by subsequent designation) Strix perlata Lichtenstein = Tyto alba tuidara (J.E. Gray).

Glaucostrix G.R. Gray, 1855: Cat. Genera Subgen. Birds Brit. Mus.: 135. Unnecessary nomen novum for Glaux Blyth, 1851.

➤ Tyto alba (Scopoli)
Barn Owl

Strix alba Scopoli, 1769: Annus 1, Hist. Nat.: 21 – Friuli, northern Italy.

Almost world-wide. More than 30 subspecies (Dickinson & Remsen 2013).

Tyto alba delicatula (Gould)
Australian Barn Owl

Strix delicatulus Gould, 1837: Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1836 (4): 140 – “Novâ Cambriâ Australi” = New South Wales, Australia (fide Schodde 1997, Zool. Cat. Australia 37.2: 291).

Strix delicatula Gould; Anon. 1870, Cat. Colonial Mus.: 72.

Aluco delicatula (Gould); Sharpe 1875, in Richardson & J.E. Gray (Eds), Zool. Voy. ‘Erebus’ & ‘Terror’, Birds 1: 23.

Tyto alba alexandrae Mathews, 1912: Novit. Zool. 18(3): 256 – Alexandria, Northern Territory, Australia.

Tyto alba delicatula (Gould); Checklist Committee 1953, Checklist N.Z. Birds: 56.

Tyto (Tyto) alba delicatula (Gould); Schodde 1997, Zool. Cat. Australia 37.2: 290.

Tyto javanica delicatula (Gould); Fotolulu 2018, Taxonomy Birds of the World: 142.

Throughout mainland Australia. Rare in Tasmania, where it is probably a recent arrival (first recorded 1910; Checklist Committee 1990). Several records from Norfolk Island (Higgins 1999). Vagrant in New Zealand until 2008, when breeding was confirmed near Kaitaia (Hyde et al. 2009); now well-established in Northland (Hyde & Matthews 2017). Three records of birds shot or accidentally killed in Westland: Barrytown 1947, Haast River mouth 1955, Runanga 1960 (Falla 1948; Falla & Riney 1958; Grant 1960). Two birds near Auckland were linked to transport on aeroplanes: 1983 (one, alive, Papatoetoe, on flight-path to Auckland International Airport; B. Gill & Turbott 1984); and 1985 (remains of one, Auckland International Airport, in undercarriage of aeroplane from USA via Hawai’i; B. Gill & Turbott 1985). In addition to the colonising population in Northland, other records include: south Kaipara Head, Feb. 1986 (Guest 1990); New Plymouth, Aug. 1990 (specimen; Guest 1991); Whenuapai, Apr. 1992 (G. Taylor & Parrish 1994a); Hauturu / Little Barrier Island, Jun.–Sep. 1992 (Smuts-Kennedy & Lovegrove 1996); and Palmerston North, Apr. 2020 (Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2021). Captive birds are in private hands, and so some records may be of escaped cage-birds. Natural New Zealand records are assumed to be of the Australian subspecies, but it is likely that other subspecies have also reached New Zealand (e.g. B. Gill & Turbott 1985). Some authors consider barn owls from south-east Asia, Australia, and the Pacific to be separable as T. javanica (Gmelin, 1788) (Christidis & Boles 2008), or treat delicatula as a full species (König & Weick 2008; Wink et al. 2009). Not known from Holocene deposits in New Zealand (see Millener 1983).

Family STRIGIDAE Leach: Typical Owls

Strigidae Leach, 1819: Eleventh room. In Synopsis Contents British Museum 15th edition, London: 64 – Type genus Strix Linnaeus, 1758.

We follow Salter et al. (2020) in recognising two subfamilies within Strigidae (Striginae and Surniinae), with both Ninox and Athene included within subfamily Surniinae.

Subfamily SURNIINAE Bonaparte: Hawk-owls

Surninae Bonaparte, 1838: Geogr. Comp. List. Birds: 6 – Type genus Surnia Duméril, 1805.

Genus Ninox Hodgson

Ninox Hodgson, 1837: Madras Journ. Lit. Sci. 5: 23 – Type species (by original designation) Ninox nipalensis Hodgson = Ninox scutulata lugubris (Tickell).

Hieracoglaux Kaup, 1848: Isis von Oken, Heft 41: col. 768 – Type species (by subsequent designation) Falco connivens Latham = Ninox connivens (Latham). As a subgenus of Ninox.

Spiloglaux Kaup, 1848: Isis von Oken, Heft 41: col. 768 – Type species (by subsequent designation) Strix boobook Latham = Ninox boobook (Latham). As a subgenus of Ninox.

Sceloglaux Kaup, 1848: Isis von Oken, Heft 41: col. 768 – Type species (by monotypy) Athene albifacies G.R. Gray, 1844 = Ninox albifacies (G.R. Gray).

Ieraglaux Kaup, 1852: in Jardine, Contrib. Ornith.: 107 – Type species (by subsequent designation) Falco connivens Latham = Ninox connivens (Latham).

Rhabdoglaux Bonaparte, 1854: Revue Mag. Zool. 2 (2nd series): 543 – Type species (by subsequent designation) Athene humeralis Bonaparte = Ninox rufa humeralis (Bonaparte).

Berneyornis Mathews, 1916: Birds Australia 5: 305 – Type species (by original designation and monotypy) Athene? Strenua Gould = Ninox strenua (Gould).

➤ Ninox novaeseelandiae (Gmelin)
Ruru | Morepork

There are several taxa in this complex for which opinions are divided regarding taxonomic rank (Mees 1964, 1982; Schodde & Mason 1980; Christidis & Boles 1994; Schodde 1997a). Several forms from islands north of Australia were all accepted in the most recent morphological study (R. Johnstone & Darnell 1997): N. n. plesseni Stressemann, 1929 – Alor; N. n. fusca (Vieillot, 1817) – Timor; N. n. moae Mayr, 1914 – Moa, Romah, and Leti; N. n. cinnamomina Hartert, 1906 – Babar; N. n. remigialis Stresemann, 1930 – Kai; N. n. rotiensis Johnstone & Darnell, 1997 – Roti; and N. n. pusilla Mayr & Rand, 1935 – New Guinea. Australian boobooks i.e., N. n. ocellata (Bonaparte, 1850); N. n. boobook (Latham, 1801); N. n. lurida De Vis, 1887; N. n. leucopsis (Gould, 1838); and N. n. halmaturina Mathews, 1912, are sometimes considered to be subspecies of N. novaeseelandiae (e.g. Christidis & Boles 1994). Others (e.g. Schodde 1997a) assigned them to a species – N. boobook (Latham) – separate from N. novaeseelandiae, and including N. b. undulata (Latham, 1801) on Norfolk Island and N. b. albaria Ramsay, 1888 on Lord Howe Island. However, genetic studies (Norman, Christidis et al. 1998; Norman, Olsen et al. 1998) supported the conclusion of Christidis & Boles (1994) that the Australian, Norfolk, and New Zealand forms comprise one species with intrataxon genetic variation much less than between taxa whose distinction at species level is uncontested.

Ninox novaeseelandiae novaeseelandiae (Gmelin)
Ruru | Morepork

Strix novae Seelandiae Gmelin, 1788: Syst. Nat., 13th edition 1(1): 296. Based on the “New Zealand Owl” of Latham 1782, Gen. Synop. Birds: 149 – Queen Charlotte Sound, Marlborough.

Strix fulva Latham, 1790: Index Ornith. 1: 65 – Queen Charlotte Sound, Marlborough.

Strix novae-seelandiae maculata Kerr, 1792: Anim. Kingdom 1: 538 – New Zealand.

Noctua zelandica Quoy & Gaimard, 1830: in Dumont d’Urville, Voyage Astrolabe Zool. 1: 168 – Tasman Bay.

Athene Novae Seelandiae (Gmelin); G.R. Gray 1843, in E. Dieffenbach, Travels in N.Z. 2: 186.

Strix fulva J.R. Forster, 1844: in M.H.C. Lichtenstein, Descrip. Animalium: 71 – Queen Charlotte Sound, Marlborough. Junior primary homonym of Strix fulva Latham, 1790.

Noctua venatica Peale, 1848: U.S. Expl. Exped. 8: 75, 309 – Bay of Islands.

Ieraglaux novae zealandiae (Gmelin); Kaup 1852, Trans. Zool. Soc. London 4(6): 218. Unjustified emendation.

Athene nova zealandiae (Gmelin); Cassin 1858, U.S. Expl. Exped. Ornithology 8: 112. Unjustified emendation.

Athene novae zealandiae (Gmelin); G.R. Gray 1862, Ibis 4: 216. Unjustified emendation.

Athenae Novae Zelandiae Gmelin; Anon. 1870, Cat. Colonial Mus.: 72. Unjustified emendation.

Spiloglaux novae zealandiae (Gmelin); Buller 1873, History of the Birds of N.Z., 1st edition: 17. Unjustified emendation.

Athene novae-zealandiae (Gmelin); Travers 1883, Trans. Proc. N.Z. Inst. 15: 186. Unjustified emendation.

Ninox novae-zealandiae (Gmelin); Hutton 1904, Index Faunae N.Z.: 29. Unjustified emendation.

Spiloglaux novaeseelandiae novaeseelandiae (Gmelin); Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 421.

Spiloglaux novaeseelandiae venatica (Peale); Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 422.

Spiloglaux novae-zeelandiae (Gmelin); Mathews 1930, Emu 29: 282. Unjustified emendation.

Ninox novaeseelandiae novaeseelandiae (Gmelin); Checklist Committee 1953, Checklist N.Z. Birds: 56.

New Zealand: North and South Islands, and Stewart Island / Rakiura plus most larger forested offshore islands from the Manawatāwhi / Three Kings Group to Codfish Island / Whenua Hou (C. Robertson et al. 2007). Absent from the Kermadec, Chatham, and subantarctic islands, except as a vagrant on the Snares Islands / Tini Heke (Miskelly et al. 2001a). Widespread, but sparingly distributed in drier eastern areas. Late Pleistocene and Holocene bones and midden records from both North and South Islands. Its reported occurrence on Chatham Island (Forbes 1893) has not been verified by subsequent investigations of bone deposits there.

Two males were introduced to Norfolk Island in 1987, where at least one bred with the last surviving individual of N. n. undulata. A population of hybrids is slowly increasing (Olsen 1996; Higgins 1999).

➤ †Ninox albifacies (G.R. Gray)
Laughing Owl | Whēkau

Extinct. Known from North and South Islands, and Stewart Island / Rakiura (G. Williams & Harrison 1972). Bones of this owl are abundant in drier eastern regions of both main islands, including at sites where they accumulated food remains (Worthy & Holdaway 2002). Its reported occurrence on Chatham Island has been discounted (Dawson 1960; Millener 1999). B. Gill (1996a) found significant size differences between North and South Island samples, and favoured subspecific distinction.

Sceloglaux Kaup, 1848, was formerly considered to be a monotypic genus endemic to New Zealand (Checklist Committee 2010). However, recent genetic research by J. Wood, Mitchell et al. (2017) provides strong evidence to support the inferences of previous authors who argued for a close relationship between Sceloglaux and species of Ninox (e.g. Olsen 1999; Weick 2006). Sceloglaux is now accepted as a junior synonym of Ninox.

†Ninox albifacies rufifacies (Buller)
North Island Laughing Owl

Sceloglaux rufifacies Buller, 1904: Ibis 4 (8th series): 639 – Wairarapa District.

Sceloglaux albifacies rufifacies Buller; Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 422.

Ninox albifacies rufifacies (Buller); Hume 2017, Extinct Birds (2nd edition): 233.

Extinct. North Island only. Two recent specimens only were taken (Buller 1905–06; Oliver 1955), both now lost (Worthy 1997c): near Mount Egmont / Mount Taranaki (1856) and Wairarapa (“about 50 miles from Wellington”, 1868–69, holotype). Only two early sight records seem reliable: Waikohu near Te Karaka (1889) and near Porirua (before 1892). Bones found at numerous sites, including swamps, caves, dunes, and in a few middens (B. Gill 1996a).

†Ninox albifacies albifacies (G.R. Gray)
South Island Laughing Owl

Athene albifacies G.R. Gray, 1845: in Richardson & J.E. Gray (Eds), Zool. Voy. ‘Erebus’ & ‘Terror’, Birds 1(8): 2 – Waikouaiti, Otago.

Ieraglaux albifacies (G.R. Gray); Kaup 1852, Trans. Zool. Soc. London 4(6): 219.

Athene (Sceloglaux) albifacies G.R. Gray; G.R. Gray 1862, Ibis 4: 216.

Strix haasti Buller, 1865: Essay N.Z. Ornith., reprinted 1869, Trans. N.Z. Inst. 1 (2nd edition): 219 – Canterbury.

Athene albifrons R. Taylor, 1870: Te Ika a Maui (2nd edition): 612. Unjustified emendation.

Athenae albifacies G.R. Gray; Anon. 1870, Cat. Colonial Mus.: 72. Unjustified emendation.

Athene ejulans Potts, 1871: Trans. N.Z. Inst. 3: 63 – Lindis Pass, Otago.

Sceloglaux albifacies (G.R. Gray); Buller 1873, History of the Birds of N.Z., 1st edition: 21.

Strix haastii; Potts 1882: Out in the Open: 123 – Unjustified emendation.

Sceloglaux albifacies albifacies (G.R. Gray); Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 422.

Ninox albifacies (G.R. Gray); J. Wood, Mitchell et al. 2017, Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 179: 912.

Ninox albifacies albifacies (G.R. Gray); Hume 2017, Extinct Birds (2nd edition): 231.

South Island (Nelson, Canterbury, Otago, Fiordland) and Stewart Island / Rakiura (G. Williams & Harrison 1972). Declined rapidly after about 1880, now extinct. Last specimen obtained July 1914 (Blue Cliffs, South Canterbury). It apparently preferred rocky areas in open country or at the forest edge. Late Pleistocene and Holocene bones and midden records widespread, including Stewart Island / Rakiura (B. Gill 1996a).

Genus *Athene Boie

Athene Boie, 1822: Isis von Oken, Heft 1: col. 549 – Type species (by subsequent designation) Athene noctua (Scopoli).

➤ *Athene noctua (Scopoli)
Little Owl | Ruru Nohinohi

Strix noctua Scopoli, 1769: Annus 1, Hist. Nat.: 22 – Carniolia = Krain, Slovenia.

Athene noctua (Scopoli) subspecies; Checklist Committee 1953, Checklist N.Z. Birds: 57.

Athene noctua (Scopoli); Checklist Committee 1970, Annot. Checklist Birds N.Z.: 61.

Europe, North Africa, Middle East, Central Asia. Thirteen subspecies (Dickinson & Remsen 2013). The subspecific status of the New Zealand population has not been determined. Introduced to New Zealand in 1906–11 (Thomson 1922; Marples 1942b), and now widespread in all eastern parts of the South Island; occasional sightings in Westland and Fiordland (C. Robertson et al. 2007). No recent records from Stewart Island / Rakiura (present 1956–57) or the North Island (heard at Rotorua 1958; Higgins 1999).