High signal-to-noise and high-resolution light scattering spectra are measured for nitrous oxide (N$_2$O) gas at an incident wavelength of 403.00 nm, at 90$^circ$ scattering, at room temperature and at gas pressures in the range $0.5-4$ bar. The resulting Rayleigh-Brillouin light scattering spectra are compared to a number of models describing in an approximate manner the collisional dynamics and energy transfer in this gaseous medium of this polyatomic molecular species. The Tenti-S6 model, based on macroscopic gas transport coefficients, reproduces the scattering profiles in the entire pressure range at less than 2% deviation at a similar level as does the alternative kinetic Grads 6-moment model, which is based on the internal collisional relaxation as a decisive parameter. A hydrodynamic model fails to reproduce experimental spectra for the low pressures of 0.5-1 bar, but yields very good agreement ($< 1$%) in the pressure range $2-4$ bar. While these three models have a different physical basis the internal molecular relaxation derived can for all three be described in terms of a bulk viscosity of $eta_b sim (6 pm 2) times 10^{-5}$ Pa$cdot$s. A rough-sphere model, previously shown to be effective to describe light scattering in SF$_6$ gas, is not found to be suitable, likely in view of the non-sphericity and asymmetry of the N-N-O structured linear polyatomic molecule.
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