Siau Scops Owl
| Siau Scops Owl | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Strigiformes |
| Family: | Strigidae |
| Genus: | Otus |
| Species: | O. siaoensis |
| Trinomial name | |
| Otus manadensis siaoensis (Schlegel, 1873) | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Otus siaoensis Otus magicus siaoensis | |
The Siau Scops Owl, Otus manadensis siaoensis is a critically endangered owl and may be extinct. They live on Siau Island, north of Sulawesi, Indonesia and are (were) forest dwellers. The species is only known from a single holotype from 1866 although there have been some local reports in recent years. Even so their population (which was small to begin with because of limited range) is being devastated by loss of habitat due to excessive logging of the forest on the island and there would be very few if any individuals left. The taxonomic arrangement for this owl has not been fully worked out. Some consider it a distinct species, others a subspecies of the Sulawesi Scops Owl and others a subspecies of the Moluccan Scops Owl.
References
- BirdLife International (2004). Otus siaoensis. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 4 February 2007. Database entry includes justification for why this species is critically endangered