Chandima Kahandawala Deepal Warakagoda was first alerted to the possibility of the new owl after hearing unknown calls in 1995 Zoom In

New owl species in Sri Lanka

03-07-2001

On 23 January 2001, a new species of owl was discovered in Sri Lanka by Deepal Warakagoda, a renowned field ornithologist and wildlife sound recordist.

Over recent years, Warakagoda has spent many nights attempting to track down an unfamiliar call in forest habitats on the island, which he suspected was given by an unknown owl species. Finally, he observed a bird earlier this year and later he was able to show the species to wildlife photographer Chandima Kahandawala, who took the accompanying photograph. Pam Rasmussen, a leading authority on Asian birds, has studied photographs, sound recordings and detailed descriptions of the new owl and has confirmed that it is a previously unrecognised species belonging to the genus Otus. Further studies are now planned on the taxonomy, distribution, ecology and biology of this owl. Formal scientific naming of the new species awaits completion of detailed morphological studies.

The discovery is quite remarkable as the bird life of Sri Lanka has been well studied over many years, and this is the first new species to be found there for 132 years.