Family Tytonidae Scientific name Phodilus prigoginei Order Owl | ||
Similar Bay owl, Owl, Bird, Barn‑owl, Minahassa masked o | ||
The Congo bay owl, also known as the Itombwe owl or African bay owl, (Pholidus prigoginei) (sometimes placed in the genus Tyto with the barn and grass owls) is a species of owl in the family Tytonidae. It is restricted to a small area in the Albertine Rift in east central Africa.
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Description
The Congo bay owl is a small, rather beautiful owl which is chestnut brown on the upperparts with many 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.
Voice
In 1990, some long mournful whistles made by unidentified owl were tape-recorded in Nyungwe Forest in Rwanda and were thought to be those of the Congo bay owl.
Distribution and habitat
The type specimen was collected at Muusi, at an altitude of 2,430m, in the Itombwe Mountains in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo 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 Forest, 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 in 1974.
Both of the specimens captured were taken in similar habitat of montane forest interspersed with areas of grassland and stands of bamboo.
Taxonomy
The Congo bay owl has been treated as a race of the Oriental bay owl Pholidus badius, but this seems very 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 does show some similarities to the Oriental bay owl in its plumage colour and pattern, but its facial disc is heart shaped, like that of the Common Barn Owl Tyto alba, and the similarity with the oriental bay owl may be due to convergence and some authorities place the Congo bay owl in Tyto.
Conservation
The Congo bay owls biology is almost completely unknown and the same goes for its population size and even its geographic range and conservation effort cannot start until this is remedied. It is threatened by the clearing of its habitat for small-scale agriculture as well as by logging, mining, wild fires and forest clearance. The Itombwe Forest has recently been proposed as a community reserve, but its boundaries still require defining.