Oriental Bay Owl
Encyclopedia
The Oriental Bay Owl is a type of owl
, usually classified with barn owl
s. It is completely nocturnal, and can be found throughout Southeast Asia
. It has several subspecies. It has a heart-shaped face with earlike extensions. The Congo Bay Owl
(Phodilus prigoginei) was formerly classified as a subspecies of Oriental Bay Owl due to insufficient knowledge, but it has turned out that it might not even belong to the same genus.
A population of this species has apparently become extinct on Samar Island
in the Philippines
during the 20th century. It was described as Phodilus badius riverae and was only ever known from a single specimen, which was lost in a bombing raid in 1945. The validity of this taxon is uncertain; it is usually synonymized with the nominate subspecies (for reasons of biogeography
) or the subspecies saturatus (from external appearance); it might be a distinct species, however
The subspecies ripleyi is found in southern India while assimilis is found in the highlands of Sri Lanka.
Owl
Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish...
, usually classified with barn owl
Barn Owl
The Barn Owl is the most widely distributed species of owl, and one of the most widespread of all birds. It is also referred to as Common Barn Owl, to distinguish it from other species in the barn-owl family Tytonidae. These form one of two main lineages of living owls, the other being the typical...
s. It is completely nocturnal, and can be found throughout Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
. It has several subspecies. It has a heart-shaped face with earlike extensions. The Congo Bay Owl
Congo Bay Owl
The Congo Bay-owl is a species of owl in the Tytonidae family. It is restricted to a small area in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo with possible records from Burundi and Rwanda....
(Phodilus prigoginei) was formerly classified as a subspecies of Oriental Bay Owl due to insufficient knowledge, but it has turned out that it might not even belong to the same genus.
A population of this species has apparently become extinct on Samar Island
Samar Island
Samar is an island in the Visayas, within the central Philippines. The island is divided into three provinces: Samar province, Northern Samar, and Eastern Samar. These three provinces, along with the provinces on the nearby islands of Leyte and Biliran are part of the Eastern Visayas region...
in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
during the 20th century. It was described as Phodilus badius riverae and was only ever known from a single specimen, which was lost in a bombing raid in 1945. The validity of this taxon is uncertain; it is usually synonymized with the nominate subspecies (for reasons of biogeography
Biogeography
Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species , organisms, and ecosystems in space and through geological time. Organisms and biological communities vary in a highly regular fashion along geographic gradients of latitude, elevation, isolation and habitat area...
) or the subspecies saturatus (from external appearance); it might be a distinct species, however
The subspecies ripleyi is found in southern India while assimilis is found in the highlands of Sri Lanka.