New Owl Species Discovered in Indonesia

A team of international researchers discovered a new species of owl on the island of Lombok, Indonesia. This newly found species has been identified as unique to the island.

The team was headed by George Sangster of the Swedish Museum of Natural History, and colleagues from other institutions.

Named as 'Otus jolandae', this new species was discovered by two different researchers in September 2003 during a field expedition. The authors suggest using the common name known as 'Rinjani Scops Owl' after Gunung Rinjani, the second-highest volcano in Indonesia. Due to its similarity with the common Indonesian owl species, the owl escaped scientific detection and remained hidden for a long time.  The new owl species shares similar plumage with the Indonesian owl.

Rinjani Scops Owl is the first endemic bird species that is ever recorded on the island of Lombok. The distinctive whistle tune of the new owl species is different and unique from the other owl's songs.

"It was quite a coincidence that two of us identified this new bird species on different parts of the same island, within a few days of being on the island," George Sangster, who led the study, was quoted as saying in a news release. "That is quite a coincidence, especially considering that no-one had noticed anything special about these owls in the previous 100 years."

The authors said that in order to communicate and recognize their own species, nocturnal animals use songs. And this owl had a distinctive vocalization, indicating it was a new species. The new bird was referred to as "burung pok", an onomatopoeic name reflecting the song note of the bird. 

Researchers compared the new species with museum specimens and previous studies conducted. By doing so they realized that the owl is unique to the island.

The study details were published in PLoS ONE.