Laughing owl genus "Sceloglaux" as previously thought, but instead belong to the genus "Ninox". The analysis indicated that the laughing owl may be a sister taxon to the "Ninox" clade containing the barking owl, Sumba boobook, and morepork, the latter of which shared New Zealand with the laughing owl. The laughing owl's plumage was yellowish-brown striped with dark brown. White straps were on the scapulars, and occasionally the hind neck. Mantle feathers were edged with white. The wings and tail had light-brown bars. The tarsus had yellowish to reddish-buff feathers. The facial disc was white behind and below the eyes, fading to
Morepork have hollows. Although their main hunting technique is perch-and-pounce, they are agile birds with a swift, goshawk-like wing action and the ability to maneuver rapidly when pursuing prey or hawking for insects. They hunt a variety of animals – mainly large invertebrates including scarab and huhu beetles, moths and caterpillars, spiders, grasshoppers, and in New Zealand, wetas. They also take almost any suitably sized prey, particularly small birds, rats, and mice. They can find suitable food in pine forests as well as native forest. A widespread and generally common species, morepork is listed as being a species of least concern