The new owl species described in the paper, titled "A new species of scops-owl (Aves, Strigiformes, Strigidae, Otus) from Príncipe Island (Gulf of Guinea, Africa) and novel insights into the systematic affinities within Otus" published in the open-access journal ZooKeys, has just been described although its presence was first confirmed in 2016.
The owl was found on Principe Island in the Democratic Republic of São Tomé, Principe, and Central Africa. Since 1998, the owl's existence has been suspected already. But locals said its presence on the island could be traced back to 1928.
New Owl Species Classified Could Be a Critically Endangered Species
According to the report of Popular Science, the new owl species is named Principe scops-owl (Otus bikegila), named after the 53 square-mile Principe Island off the western coast of Africa.
A new species of owl has been identified, the Principe Scops Owl. It is endemic (found only there) on the tiny island of Principe off the west coast of Africa. pic.twitter.com/a1u5jRdajm
— Scottish Owl Centre (@ScotOwl) November 1, 2022
Its names, scops-owls and "Otus," are generic titles given to small owls, commonly found in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Meanwhile, its "Bikeglia" name is an homage to Principe Island park ranger Ceciliano do Bom Jesus, whose nickname was Bikeglia.
The authors said in a statement via EurekAlert! that the discovery of the new owl species was only possible because of the local knowledge Bikeglia shared and by his unflinching efforts to solve the long-time mystery of the species. More so, the name is an acknowledgment to all locals who assisted in the crucial advancement of the knowledge of biodiversity in the world.
All of Principe Island was extremely surveyed to know the distribution of the population of Principe scops-owl. In the additional research they recently published, the team noted that bikeglia could be found only in the remaining old-growth native forest on the island and the area that remains uninhabited.
They only occupy a small space, roughly four times as big as Central Park in New York, with an estimated population of about 1,000 to 1,500 owls.
But due to their concentration in such a small area, the team proposed that the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) add the bird to its red list and classify it as a "Critically Endangered" species. They plan to continue monitoring the owls to learn more about their population size to preserve the bikeglia's habitat.
Haunting Calls of Principe scops-owl
The team has also released a third study about Principe scops-owl about their detailed method for discovering the owl in which they used passive acoustic monitoring to identify new species in remote terrain.
The team deployed audio recorders to sample what animals were creating sounds at night, then analyzed the data to identify the signature call of the Principe scops-owl, National Geographic reports. They designed a computer program to sift through hours of audio recordings to determine the owl's calls amid the insects, parrots, and other nightlife.
They found that the tiny, yellow-eyed owl produces strange screeches that haunt the night. Not many have heard its noises before, but it sometimes sounds like the rasp of an insect, the mewing of a cat, or a monkey's call.
Locals first noticed these strange calls in 1928, but the lack of means to easily see into the towering forest canopy at night caused it to remain an enigma until 2016, when researchers first confirmed its existence.
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