The Itombwe owl (''Tyto prigoginei'') is a species of
owl in the barn owl family,
Tytonidae. It is restricted to a small area in the
Albertine Rift montane forests
The Albertine Rift montane forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in east-central Africa. The ecoregion covers the mountains of the northern Albertine Rift, and is home to distinct Afromontane forests with high biodiversity.
Geo ...
.
Taxonomy and systematics
The Itombwe owl was first
described by the Belgium naturalist
Henri Schouteden Henri Schouteden (9 July 1881, Brussels – 15 November 1972, Brussels) was a Belgian zoologist, ornithologist and entomologist who undertook numerous expeditions into the Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi.
Works
(All in French)
*Schouteden, H. (1912). ...
in 1952 and given the
binomial name
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
''Phodilus prigoginei'', being placed in the genus ''
Phodilus
The bay owls (''Phodilus'') are a genus of Old World barn-owls. The defining characteristics of bay owls are their smaller bodies, in comparison to other barn owls, and their U- or V-shaped faces. These owls can be found in South to Southeast As ...
'' along with the two Asian bay owls, being referred to as the Congo bay owl or African bay owl. The specific epithet was chosen in honour of the Russian-born mineralogist and ornithologist
Alexandre Prigogine
Alexandre Romanovich Prigogine (12 April 1913, Moscow - 7 May 1991, Brussels) was a Belgian mineralogist and ornithologist of Russian-Jewish origin.
Born into a Jewish family in Moscow, his father Roman (Ruvim Abramovich) Prigogine was a chemica ...
who had first brought the owl to Schouteden's attention. The owl is not well known and has been treated as a race of the
Oriental bay owl, but this is now considered unlikely, and, in fact, the two species do not appear to be closely related. Even so, its inclusion in ''Phodilus'' is rather dubious, and genetic research is required. It is possible that this species may instead be placed in the genus ''Tyto'' or even a separate
monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...
genus. In 2023, this species was classified into ''Tyto'' by the
International Ornithological Congress
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
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* ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
* ''International'' (New Order album), 2002
* ''International'' (The T ...
on the basis of morphological similarities.
Description
The Itombwe owl is a small owl with chestnut brown on the upper-parts, black and white spots on the crown and nape, and reddish cream underparts. The only specimens known have been adult females, males and juveniles are therefore unknown.
It is similar to the other ''Phodilus'' species in being smaller than typical barn owls, and having the more U-shaped facial disk; however, the ear-like feather tufts are hardly visible. While it does show some similarities to the Oriental bay owl in its plumage colour and pattern, its facial disc is heart shaped like that of the
western barn owl, and the similarity with the oriental bay owl may be due to convergence.
[
]
Voice
In 1990, some long mournful whistles made by an unidentified owl were tape-recorded in Nyungwe Forest in Rwanda
Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...
and were thought to be those of the Congo bay owl.
Distribution and habitat
The type specimen
In biology, a type is a particular wiktionary:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to a ...
was collected at Muusi, at an altitude of 2,430m, in the Itombwe Mountains in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
in 1951.[ It was then unconfirmed until a second individual was captured in a mist net in 1996 in the south east corner of the Itombwe Mountains, some 95 km south of, and 600m, lower than the collection site of the type specimen.] In addition there was the recording in Rwanda mentioned above and a possible sighting in Burundi
Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...
in 1974.
Both of the specimens captured were taken in similar habitat of montane forest interspersed with areas of grassland and stands of bamboo
Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...
.
Conservation
The biology of the Itombwe owl is almost completely unknown as is its population size or even its complete geographic range. Conservation efforts cannot start without this research. It is threatened by the clearing of its habitat for small scale agriculture
A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technology ...
as well as by logging, mining, wildfires and forest clearance. The Itombwe Forest has recently been proposed as a community reserve, but its boundaries still require defining.[
]
References
Further reading
*
External links
BirdLife Species Factsheet
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1273539
Congo bay owl
The Itombwe owl (''Tyto prigoginei'') is a species of owl in the barn owl family, Tytonidae. It is restricted to a small area in the Albertine Rift montane forests.
Taxonomy and systematics
The Itombwe owl was first described by the Belgium n ...
Birds of Central Africa
Congo bay owl
The Itombwe owl (''Tyto prigoginei'') is a species of owl in the barn owl family, Tytonidae. It is restricted to a small area in the Albertine Rift montane forests.
Taxonomy and systematics
The Itombwe owl was first described by the Belgium n ...
Congo bay owl
The Itombwe owl (''Tyto prigoginei'') is a species of owl in the barn owl family, Tytonidae. It is restricted to a small area in the Albertine Rift montane forests.
Taxonomy and systematics
The Itombwe owl was first described by the Belgium n ...
Congo bay owl
The Itombwe owl (''Tyto prigoginei'') is a species of owl in the barn owl family, Tytonidae. It is restricted to a small area in the Albertine Rift montane forests.
Taxonomy and systematics
The Itombwe owl was first described by the Belgium n ...
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot