Bornean Rajah Scops Owl Reappears After 125 Years – Veterans Today | Military Foreign Affairs Policy Journal for Clandestine Services
by Gia Yetikyel/Smithsonianmag.com An easy way to find and identify a bird species is to listen for their unique calls. But Otus brookii brookii, a Bornean subspecies of the Rajah scops owl, hasn’t been observed by scientists since 1892, and its song is unknown, making it that much harder to find. Now, for the first time in more than 125 years, researchers have documented the Rajah scops owl in a study published last month in the Wilson Journal of Ornithology. In May 2016, Andy Boyce, an ecologist with the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, carefully observed and photographed the owl ...