Editing Laughing owl (section)

==Taxonomy==
[[File:Sceloglaux albifacies rufifacies.jpg|thumb|upright|''N. a. rufifacies'']]
The laughing owl was originally described as ''Athene albifacies'' by [[George Robert Gray]] in 1844, based on a specimen from Waikouaiti, South Island.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Richardson |first1=John |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/31178 |title=The zoology of the voyage of the H.M.S. Erebus & Terror, under the command of Captain Sir James Clark Ross, during the years 1839 to 1843. By authority of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty |last2=Richardson |first2=John |last3=Gray |first3=John Edward |last4=Ross |first4=James Clark |last5=Erebus (Ship) |last6=Terror (Ship) |date=1844 |publisher=E. W. Janson |volume=1 |location=London}}</ref> The type specimen is held at the British Museum (Reg. no. 1845.1.13.5).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Warren |first=Rachel L.M. |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/35377 |title=Type-specimens of birds in the British Museum (Natural History) |publisher=British Museum (Natural History) |year=1966 |volume=1 |location=London}}</ref>

The species was later transferred by [[Johann Jakob Kaup]] to other genera, first to the [[Monotypic taxon|monotypic]] genus ''Sceloglaux'' (as ''S. albifacies'') in 1848 and later to ''Ieraglaux'' (as ''I. albifacies'') in 1852.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sceloglaux Albifacies*. — (Laughing-Owl.) {{!}} NZETC |url=https://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-BulBird-t1-g1-t1-body-d0-d50.html |access-date=2024-01-09 |website=nzetc.victoria.ac.nz}}</ref> Recent genetic studies now include it with the [[boobook owl]]s in the genus ''[[Ninox]],'' as ''N. albifacies.''<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Wood |first1=Jamie R. |last2=Mitchell |first2=Kieren J. |last3=Scofield |first3=R. Paul |last4=De Pietri |first4=Vanesa L. |last5=Rawlence |first5=Nicolas J. |last6=Cooper |first6=Alan |date=August 2016 |title=Phylogenetic relationships and terrestrial adaptations of the extinct laughing owl, ''Sceloglaux albifacies'' (Aves: Strigidae) |journal=Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society |language=en |doi=10.1111/zoj.12483 |issn=0024-4082}}</ref>

Two subspecies of laughing owl have been described. In the [[North Island]], specimens of the smaller subspecies ''N. a. rufifacies'' were allegedly collected from the forest districts of [[Mount Taranaki]] (1856) and the [[Wairarapa]] (1868); the unclear history of the latter and the eventual disappearance of both led to suspicions that the bird may not have occurred in the North Island at all. This theory has been refuted, however, after ample [[subfossil]] bones of the species were found in the North Island. Sight records exist from [[Porirua]] and [[Karaka, New Zealand|Te Karaka]]; according to [[Māori people|Māori]] tradition, the species last occurred in [[Te Urewera]].

In the [[South Island]], the larger subspecies ''N. a. albifacies'' inhabited low rainfall districts, including [[Nelson, New Zealand|Nelson]], Canterbury, and [[Otago]]. They were also found in the central mountains and possibly [[Fiordland]]. Specimens of ''N. a. albifacies'' were collected from [[Stewart Island/Rakiura]] in or around 1881.