Family/Sub-family Strigidae

Species name author (Gray, 1844)

Taxonomic source(s) Brooks (2000), Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993), Turbott (1990)

Summary Sceloglaux albifacies was endemic to New Zealand with the nominate race on the South and Stewart Islands (with bones known from the Chatham Islands) and the subspecies rufifacies on the North Island¹. Birds were not uncommon until the first half of the 19th century, but were becoming rare by the 1840s¹. The last specimens of rufifacies were collected in 1889 (with reports until the 1930s), and of albifacies, in 1914 (with reports until the 1960s)¹.

Ecology: The species roosted and nested among rocks in open country and on forest edge¹.

Threats Causes of the species's extinction are obscure, possibly habitat modification through grazing or burning, or predation by introduced mammals¹.

References 1. Williams and Harrison (1972).

Text account compilers Tom Brooks (Conservation International), Simon Mahood (BirdLife International)

IUCN Red List evaluators Jeremy Bird (BirdLife International), Tom Brooks (Conservation International), Stuart Butchart (BirdLife International), Alison Stattersfield (BirdLife International)

Recommended citation BirdLife International (2009) Species factsheet: Sceloglaux albifacies. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 10/2/2010

This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List.

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