A rare tropical owl has been spotted for the first time since it was discovered nearly 125 years ago.
The orange-eyed Bornean subspecies of Rajah scops owl was photographed in the forests of Mount Kinabalu in Malaysia.
Based on its unique patterns and habitat, researchers believe it is actually a new species in need of conservation.
While little is known about the bird, the mature mountainous forest it calls home are threatened by habitat loss due to deforestation, climate change and palm oil production.
Technician Keegan Tranquillo spied the owl while nest-searching in May 2016 as part of an extensive study of avian evolution among the forests of Mount Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia.
Published on: Wednesday, May 19, 2021
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Boyce reported the rediscovery and photographed the elusive Bornean subspecies of the Rajah scops owl, Otus brookii brookii, in the mountainous forests of Mount Kinabalu. – Credit: Andy Boyce / Smithsonian Magazine
KOTA KINABALU: For the first time since its discovery more than 125 years ago, scientists have documented the Bornean subspecies of the Rajah Scops-Owl in the montane forest of Mount Kinabalu,
Times News Express reported.
Researchers from the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Centre announced their rediscovery of the orange-eyed bird last month in the Wilson Journal of Ornithology, including the first photographs of it in the wild.
For the first time since it was first discovered 125 ago, people have spotted the Bornean subspecies of the Rajah Scops Owl in the montane forest of Mount Kinabalu, Malaysia.
Ecologists from the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center made the announcement last month in the Wilson Journal of Ornithology, where they also attached the first images of it in its natural habitat.
The scientists noted that while most of the basic elements of this owlâs ecology are still unknown â e.g. sounds, distribution, breeding biology, and the size of its population â
âphylogeographic patterns of montane birds in Borneo and Sumatra, as well as plumage characters, suggest that O. b. brookii may be deserving of species classification.â
An extremely rare owl with bright orange eyes that hadn’t been seen in more than a hundred years has been rediscovered in Malaysia. Named
Otus brookii brookii, it is a Bornean subspecies of the Rajah scops owl. Scientists last witnessed this owl back in 1892 and nobody knows what type of songs or sounds/calls it makes.
The rediscovery of the owl occurred in May of 2016 but the study was just recently published in the
Wilson Journal of Ornithology. It was witnessed and photographed in Sabah, Malaysia by Andy Boyce who is an ecologist from the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center. He worked with locals, people from several Indigenous communities, and officials from Sabah Park.
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