Peekaboo! Rare Owl Spotted for the First Time in 125 Years

After not being seen for 125 years, the rare Rajah scops owl was observed in Sabah, Malaysia, allowing enthusiast ecologists to gather information on the elusive bird endemic to the Borneo island.

“Out of this dark corner where there was a lot of vegetation, this owl flew out and it landed,” says Keegan Tranquillo, a field biologist at Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico. The owl flew away but returned to perch in the shadowed area shortly after. “It’s a stroke of luck it came back to that exact spot.”

The Otus brookii brookii was observed for the first time – and the last – in 1892, and its rediscovery took place during a 10-year study of avian evolution within the forests of Mount Kinabalu. Indeed, in May 2016, pictures were taken and observations were made of the grey-feathered and orange-eyed bird, and the ecologists’ findings have been published. The Rajah scops owl appears to be 25% larger than ordinary owls from the area, and it is assumed that it weighs 100 grams when compared with its close relatives. Further researches need to be done to differentiate the Otus brookii brookii and its partner subspecies, Otus brookii solokensis, endemic to the island Sumatra, like collecting blood samples for genetic analysis, doing long-term observational studies, and recording its song that has yet to be heard.