A new owl species has been discovered on Lombok island in Indonesia, making it the first endemic bird known to the island.
The new species, named Otus jolandae or Rinjani Scops owl, seems to
have escaped identification for so long due to its similarity with
another owl, Otus magicus (or Moluccan Scops). But its song is
completely different - while the Moluccan Scops has a "raven-like
croak", the Rinjani Scops has a distinct
whistle. It was this whistle that alerted two researchers, George
Sangster and Ben King, who were working independently recording
nightjars, to its presence.
At first Sangster assumed it was a
previously-known owl that lived on Java or Bali island, but the songs
revealed this wasn't the case. Playing back the songs prompted the owls
responsible to approach the researchers (owls are very territorial and
will come to investigate any intruder). Further evidence of this owl
being a new species came in the form anatomical measurements, song
analysis and DNA comparisons. Unsurprisingly there were only minimal
differences in plumage between Rinjani Scops and Moluccan Scops (Otus
owls communicate verbally and plumage colouration is solely for
camoflage).
The team also took the song to neighbouring
islands. Philippe Verbelen, Sangster's colleague, couldn't find any
traces of the new species and residents of the islands had never heard
its whistling song before. On the likelihood of finding new bird species
in Indonesia, Sangster commented "Our study underscores that even after
150 years of scientific study we still do not know all birds in the
Indo-Malayan region. In fact, Indonesia is a treasure trove for
taxonomists."
To read the paper formally describing Rinjani Scops owls: http://bit.ly/YviC7g
Photo credit: Philippe Verbelen.
http://www.redorbit.com/news/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/
http://www.wired.com/
A new owl species has been discovered on Lombok island in Indonesia, making it the first endemic bird known to the island.
The new species, named Otus jolandae or Rinjani Scops owl, seems to have escaped identification for so long due to its similarity with another owl, Otus magicus (or Moluccan Scops). But its song is completely different - while the Moluccan Scops has a "raven-like croak", the Rinjani Scops has a distinct whistle. It was this whistle that alerted two researchers, George Sangster and Ben King, who were working independently recording nightjars, to its presence.
At first Sangster assumed it was a previously-known owl that lived on Java or Bali island, but the songs revealed this wasn't the case. Playing back the songs prompted the owls responsible to approach the researchers (owls are very territorial and will come to investigate any intruder). Further evidence of this owl being a new species came in the form anatomical measurements, song analysis and DNA comparisons. Unsurprisingly there were only minimal differences in plumage between Rinjani Scops and Moluccan Scops (Otus owls communicate verbally and plumage colouration is solely for camoflage).
The team also took the song to neighbouring islands. Philippe Verbelen, Sangster's colleague, couldn't find any traces of the new species and residents of the islands had never heard its whistling song before. On the likelihood of finding new bird species in Indonesia, Sangster commented "Our study underscores that even after 150 years of scientific study we still do not know all birds in the Indo-Malayan region. In fact, Indonesia is a treasure trove for taxonomists."
To read the paper formally describing Rinjani Scops owls: http://bit.ly/YviC7g
Photo credit: Philippe Verbelen.
http://www.redorbit.com/news/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/
http://www.wired.com/
The new species, named Otus jolandae or Rinjani Scops owl, seems to have escaped identification for so long due to its similarity with another owl, Otus magicus (or Moluccan Scops). But its song is completely different - while the Moluccan Scops has a "raven-like croak", the Rinjani Scops has a distinct whistle. It was this whistle that alerted two researchers, George Sangster and Ben King, who were working independently recording nightjars, to its presence.
At first Sangster assumed it was a previously-known owl that lived on Java or Bali island, but the songs revealed this wasn't the case. Playing back the songs prompted the owls responsible to approach the researchers (owls are very territorial and will come to investigate any intruder). Further evidence of this owl being a new species came in the form anatomical measurements, song analysis and DNA comparisons. Unsurprisingly there were only minimal differences in plumage between Rinjani Scops and Moluccan Scops (Otus owls communicate verbally and plumage colouration is solely for camoflage).
The team also took the song to neighbouring islands. Philippe Verbelen, Sangster's colleague, couldn't find any traces of the new species and residents of the islands had never heard its whistling song before. On the likelihood of finding new bird species in Indonesia, Sangster commented "Our study underscores that even after 150 years of scientific study we still do not know all birds in the Indo-Malayan region. In fact, Indonesia is a treasure trove for taxonomists."
To read the paper formally describing Rinjani Scops owls: http://bit.ly/YviC7g
Photo credit: Philippe Verbelen.
http://www.redorbit.com/news/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/
http://www.wired.com/
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