In a groundbreaking piece of research by The Sound Approach team a new Strix owl has been identified. A new species discovered in 2013! The team were studying Pallid Scops Owls Otus brucei at Al Jabal Al Akhdar, the central part of the Al Hajar Mountains in northern Oman. The team study birds recording their calls. One night, whilst listening to the Scops Owls in a dry wadi, Magnus Robb detected through his headphones a totally different owl call that sounded unlike that of any Palearctic owl species. He likened its four hoots to the opening bars of the famous wedding march from Richard Wagner's opera Lohengrin. The compound structure of its hooting suggested a Strix owl but one with a voice even deeper than Ural Owl Strix uralensis. Although the team made good quality recordings the bird was not seen on this visit. Subsequent visits proved to be successful when playback of the Strix call finally lured the mystery owl into their torch beams. The capture of good quality images however had to wait for a third visit. A series of good-quality images was taken in late May.
Further diligent research was completed and the team concluded: "Vocalisations and plumage characteristics demonstrate that the owls sound-recorded and photographed in the Al Hajar Mountains of Oman represent a new species, which we propose to name Strix omanensis, Omani Owl".
In a world of so many species becoming extinct this is indeed a discovery of great magnitude and significance.
The Omani Owl
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