Sulawesi Masked Owl

The Sulawesi masked owl received its first scientific description by the German ornithologist Hermann Schlegel in 1866 as Strix rosenbergii. was later included in the genus Tyto. The specific name "rosenbergii" refers to the German surveyor and naturalist Hermann von Rosenberg who collected bird specimens in the East Indies and sent them to the National Museum of Natural History in Leiden to be classified. Other common names for this bird include Rosenberg's owl, Rosenberg's barn-owl, Sulawesi owl, Sulawesi barn-owl, Celebes barn-owl, Celebes masked-owl and Celebes owl. (Wikipedia, general species account).

There are two subspecies, T. r. rosenbergii (Schlegel, 1866), found in Sulawesi and Sangihe, and T. r. pelengensis Neumann, 1939, found in Peleng in the Banggai Island group. It hunts at night in secondary forest, agricultural land, grassland and open country. Examination of pellets regurgitated by this owl in a cave showed that the diet includes rats and shrews. The Sulawesi masked owl grows to a length of about 43 to 46 cm (17 to 18 in). (Wikipedia, general species account).