The Congo bay owl (Phodilus prigoginei ) is a species of owl in the barn owl family, Tytonidae. It is restricted to a small area in the Albertine Rift montane forests.
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
Altricial animals are those species whose newly hatched or born young are relatively immobile. They lack hair or down, are not able to obtain food ...
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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starts withThe Congo bay owl is a small owl with chestnut brown on the upper-parts, black and white spots on the crown and nape, and reddish cream underparts. The only specimens known have been adult females, males and juveniles are therefore unknown. It is similar to the other Phodilus species in being smaller than typical barn owls, and having the more U-shaped facial disk; however, the ear-like feather tufts are hardly visible. While it does show some similarities to the Oriental bay owl in its plumage colour and pattern, its facial disc is heart shaped like that of the western barn owl, and the similarity with the oriental bay owl may be due to convergence.
The type specimen was collected at Muusi, at an altitude of 2,430m, in the Itombwe Mountains in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in 1951. It was then unconfirmed until a second individual was captured in a mist net in 1996 in the south east corner of the Itombwe Mountains, some 95 km south of, and 600m, lower than the collection site of the type specimen. In addition there was the recording in Rwanda mentioned above and a possible sighting in Burundi in 1974.
Both of the specimens captured were taken in similar habitat of montane forest interspersed with areas of grassland and stands of bamboo.
The biology of the Congo bay owl is almost completely unknown as is its population size or even its complete geographic range. Conservation efforts cannot start without this research. It is threatened by the clearing of its habitat for small scale agriculture as well as by logging, mining, wildfires and forest clearance. The Itombwe Forest has recently been proposed as a community reserve, but its boundaries still require defining.
