Imagine the surprise of John O’Neill and Gary Graves of Louisiana State University when they mist-netted a strange little owl in the cloud forest of northern Peru in 1976. A strange, small creature with wispy feathers flaring out from its facial disk and peculiar amber eyes. Its legs were bare, and it lacked ear tufts. Bristles covered the base of its bill. The bird was obviously new to science, and it was so unique that it was placed in its own monotypic genus, Xenoglaux (strange owl). It was not seen again until 1978. It call wasn’t even recorded until 2002.
So, a strange little owl had only been observed 3 times, and then only with the assistance of mist nets. Guess what happened on January 24th of this year? An Israeli researcher named Shachar Alterman and Edin Fonseca, a local guide, actually managed to capture images and video of a Long-whiskered Owlet without the aid of capture. For the first time a wild Long-whiskered Owlet was observed in its habitat. The video done with an illuminated bird and a bit shaky, but it is incredible to view this species.
Just another aspect of the Peru’s amazing natural world that makes my upcoming in June with Kolibri Expeditions and Gunnar Engblom even more exciting and enticing. I will be visiting the Manu lowlands for 8 days, and hope to see a great number of the terrific species that live there. I’m having dreams of Harpy Eagles, the famous macaw lick, and Giant Otters. You can join me on this trip or book your own with Gunnar here.
