Tyto almae, Jønsson, Knud Andreas, Poulsen, Michael Køie, Haryoko, Tri, Reeve, Andrew Hart & Fabre, Pierre-Henri, 2013

Jønsson, Knud Andreas, Poulsen, Michael Køie, Haryoko, Tri, Reeve, Andrew Hart & Fabre, Pierre-Henri, 2013, A new species of masked-owl (Aves: Strigiformes: Tytonidae) from Seram, Indonesia, Zootaxa 3635 (1), pp. 51-61 : 55-57

Tyto almae , sp. nov.

Seram Masked Owl

Holotype. Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense (MZB), Cibinong, Indonesia, study skin voucher: MZB 33.231, female (ovary 17 × 5 mm), Mount Binaiya, at Waensela above Kanikeh Village, Manusela National Park, Seram, Maluku Province, Indonesia, elevation 1,350 m, 3°08.668’S, 129°28.434’E, mist-netted on 10 February 2012; prepared by Knud Andreas Jønsson, field catalogue number KAJ1- 10.02.12.

Measurements of holotype. Wing length (chord): 252 mm; tarsus: 63.6 mm; tail: 116 mm; bill from base of skull: 37.4 mm; bill height at base: 16.1 mm; bill width: 13.7 mm; weight: 540 g.

Description of holotype. Facial area light pinkish cinnamon, more dusky in the eye-pit, with short feathers that do not cover the auricular troughs (probably as a consequence of heavy moult), with a ruff of orange tawny feathers with dark brown tips bordering the facial area outside the auricular troughs. Crown, nape, mantle and wing coverts ochraceous orange, each feather with a short white stripe embedded within dusky-mottled feather-tips; lower back to upper tail-coverts with more spindle-shaped and pale buffy spots within the dark feather-tips. Greater wing-coverts and remiges ochraceous orange with well-spaced fuscous bars and only a few darker mottles between bars; upper side of rectrices similar, ochraceous tawny with five exposed fuscous bars, each 5–8 mm wide, and with a few dusky mottles or stipples within the broader ochraceous zones. The entire extent of the underparts, including wing linings, yellow-ocher with whitish basal parts of the feathers, and small, roundish subterminal spots on most feathers of the breast and belly; tarsi with yellow-ocher feathers all the way to the base of the toes. Irides dark brown, bill pale horn, feet pinkish drab with pale grey talons.

Diagnosis. Head large and round with a heart-shaped facial area, tail short, and legs rather long as is typical of masked-owls of the genus Tyto (Bruce 1999) . The general colouration, size and geographical location initially led us to believe that it belonged within Tyto sororcula . Generally similar to both forms of Tyto sororcula , but differs by having yellow ochre instead of white or whitish underparts. Also shows a unique pattern on crown and upper back, with a short white or buff shaft stripe within the dusky terminal part of each feather, instead of two roundish, or bar- or heart-shaped white spots per feather, as in most Tyto species. Additionally, feathers of the mid- and lower back have only a limited amount of light (buffy) mottles within the dusky terminal parts, unlike in T. s. cayelii and, notably, T. s. sororcula . In the latter subspecies, distal parts of the dorsal feathers are densely mottled with dusky and white, and there is also a broad mottled zone inside each of the dark bars, giving a rather ‘peppered’ greyish appearance to much of the upperparts. The tail of T. almae is extensively golden brown with broad dark bars, showing no pale mottling, and only a trace of dark mottling between the bars. This is unlike the more extensive dark mottling found in both forms of T. sororcula , which additionally shows pale mottling. Thus, with more extensively golden brown and distinctly barred wings and tail, T. almae is phenotypically quite distinct from the two currently recognized forms of Tyto sororcula . Furthermore, T. almae has longer and completely feathered tarsi, similar to T. s. cayelii , whereas the lower tarsi of T. s. sororcula have short bristle-like feathers only.

Etymology. The specific epithet honours Alma Jønsson, daughter of the senior author, acknowledging that she had to be without her father while he was out exploring.

Conservation. Both known records of Tyto owls from Seram are from within the protected Manusela National Park. Manusela National Park covers about 10% of Seram (17,100 km 2). This is one of the only areas in Seram that is visited with any regularity by ornithologists (Bowler & Taylor 1989, 1993; Marsden et al. 1997; Rheindt & Hutchinson 2007a,b) and other individuals who would recognize the scientific significance of a Tyto owl on Seram. The natural vegetation of Seram is tropical lowland evergreen and semi-evergreen rain forest, with tropical montane rain forest above ~ 800 m. Seram is still well-forested, although the low-lying areas where the human population is concentrated along the coast and in the west have been cleared (BirdLife International 2012). It is very problematic to assess the threat status of this species as so little is known about its distribution, status and habitat requirements. The little information available suggests that T. almae is not threatened at present, but lives at rather low population densities within montane and perhaps lowland rain forest on Seram. Timber extraction and bird trapping for the wild bird trade are known threats to other forest bird species of Seram (Marsden 1998; Chan et al. 2004; BirdLife International 2012). The most likely threat to Tyto almae is disappearance of its forest habitat due to anthropogenic activities. The existence of Manusela National Park may be of high importance for the longterm conservation of this species.