Ninox novaeseelandiae albaria (Ramsey, 1888:36)
Lord Howe boobook owl
Taxonomy & Nomenclature
Synonym/s: Ninox albaria Ramsay, 1888:36 (original combination); Spiloglaux albaria (Ramsey, 1888:36)
Conservation Status
Extinct
Last record: 1950's (Hutton, 1991:63)
IUCN RedList status: Extinct
A brief hope among some residents of the island that the subspecies might be extant after a Ninox spp. was heard calling twice and a specimen found dead (Benns, 2019), however further analysis revealed it to be a male Tasmanian Boobook (Ninox leucopsis) (Tsang et al., 2022)
Distribution
Lord Howe Island, New South Wales, Australia
Biology & Ecology
Hypodigm
Syntypes:
AM 0.1428 (adult, unsexed)
AM 0.1429 (adult, unsexed)
AM 0.10143 (adult, unsexed)
AM 0.18709 (adult, unsexed)
Other specimens:
AMNH (seven skins)
Media
Above: illustration from Mathews (1928).
References
Original scientific description:
Ramsay, E. P. (1888). Tabular List of all the Australian Birds at present known to the author, showing the Distribution of the Species over the continent of Australia and adjacent islands. Sydney: E. P. Ramsay (self published). 38 pp.
Other references:
Benns, M. (2019). Rats! We killed a dead animal: Island in flap as rodent poison slays an ‘extinct’ owl. Daily Telegraph (Sydney), 7 September 2019, 15.
BirdLife International. (2012). Ninox novaeseelandiae. In: IUCN 2013. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.1. (http://www.iucnredlist.org). Downloaded on 25 August 2013.
Department of Environment and Climate Change (NSW). (2007). Lord Howe Island Biodiversity Management Plan Appendices. Department of Environment and Climate Change (NSW), Sydney. vii + 267 pp.
del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott & J. Sargatal (1999). Handbook of the Birds of the World. In: Barn-owls to Hummingbirds. Volume 5. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.
Department of the Environment (2014). Ninox novaeseelandiae albaria in Species Profile and Threats Database, Department of the Environment, Canberra. Available from: http://www.environment.gov.au/sprat. Accessed Sat, 22 Feb 2014 21:42:06 +1100.
Disney, H.J. de S. & C.N. Smithers (1972). The distribution of terrestrial and freshwater birds on Lord Howe Island, in comparison with Norfolk Island. Australian Zoologist 17: 1-11.
Eck S, Busse H (1973) Eulen. NBB, Wittenberg.
Etheridge, R. (1889). The general zoology of Lord Howe Island. Australian Museum Memoirs. 2: 3-42.
Fullagar, P.J., McKean, J.L. & Van Tets, G.F. 1975. Report on the Birds, appendix F. pp. 55-72 in Recher, H.F. & Clark, S.S. (eds). Environmental Survey of Lord Howe Island A report to the Lord Howe Island Board. Sydney : Australian Museum viii 86 pp.
Garnett, Stephen. (1992). Threatened and Extinct Birds of Australia. RAOU Report Number 82. Moonee Ponds, Australia: Royal Australasian Ornithologists' Union and Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service. 212 pp.
Garnett, S. T. and Crowley, G. M. (2000). The Action Plan for Australian Birds 2000. Canberra, ACT: Environment Australia & Birds Australia.
Hindwood, Keith A. (1940). The birds of Lord Howe Island. Emu 40: 1-86.
Hull, Arthur Francis Basset. (1909). The birds of Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 34: 636-693, pls. l-liv. [p. 674]
Hutton, Ian. (1991). Birds of Lord Howe Island: Past and Present. Coffs Harbour Plaza, N.S.W.: Self Published. 154 pp.
Knox, Alan G. and Walters, Michael P. (1994). Extinct and endangered birds in the collections of The Natural History Museum. British Ornithologists' Club Occasional Publications 1: 1-292. [p. 170]
König C, Weick F, Becking JH (1999) Owls. A guide to the owls of the world. Pica Press.
Longmore, N. W. (1991). Type specimens of birds in the Australian Museum. Technical Report of the Australian Museum 4: 1-42.
Mathews, Gregory Macalister. (1928). The Birds of Norfolk & Lord Howe Islands and the Australasian South Polar Quadrant: with additions to "birds of Australia". London: H.F. & G. Witherby. [p. 21, pl. 13]
Matthews, Thomas J., Wayman, Joseph P., Cardoso, Pedro, Sayol, Ferran, Hume, Julian P., Ulrich, Werner, Tobias, Joseph A., Soares, Filipa C., Thébaud, Christophe, Martin, Thomas E. and Triantis, Kostas A. (2022). Threatened and extinct island endemic birds of the world: Distribution, threats and functional diversity. Journal of Biogeography 49(11): 1920-1940. https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.14474 [Appendix S1 (.docx); Appendix S2 (.pdf)]
McAllan, Ian A. W., Curtis, Brian R., Hutton, Ian and Cooper, Richard M. (2004). The Birds of Lord Howe Island Group: A Review of Records. Australian Field Ornithology 21(Supplement): 1-82.
McKean, J. L. and Hindwood, Keith A. (1965). Additional notes on the birds of Lord Howe Island. Emu. 64: 79-97.
Mees, G. F. (1964). A revision of the Australian Owls (Striigdae and Tytonidae). Zoologische Verhandelingen. 65: 1-62.
Recher, H. F. (1974a). Colonisation and extinction: the birds of Lord Howe Island. Australian Natural History 18(2): 64-69.
Recher, H. F., ed. (1974b). Environmental Survey of Lord Howe Island: A Report to the Lord Howe Island Board. Sydney, NSW: Australian Museum.
Recher, H. F. and S.S. Clark (1974). A biological survey of Lord Howe Island with recommendations for the conservation of the island's wildlife. Biological Conservation. 6: 263-273.
Schodde, R. & I.J. Mason (1980). Nocturnal Birds of Australia. Melbourne: Lansdowne.
Schodde, R. and Mason, I. J. 1997. Aves (Columbidae to Coraciidae). Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Vol. 37.2. W. W. K. Houston and A. Wells (eds). CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne.
Schodde, R., P. Fullagar & N. Hermes (1983). A review of Norfolk Island birds: past and present. Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service Special Publication. 8.
Tsang, Leah R. et al. (2022). A recent specimen of a Tasmanian Boobook Ninox leucopsis recovered on Lord Howe Island. Australian Field Ornithology 39: 143-157. http://dx.doi.org/10.20938/afo39143157
Weick, Friedhelm. (2006). Owls (Strigiformes): Annotated and Illustrated Checklist. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
Woinarski, John C. Z., Legge, Sarah M. and Garnett, Stephen T. (2024). Extinct Australian birds: numbers, characteristics, lessons and prospects. Emu 124(1): 8-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/01584197.2023.2240345