New species of bird discovered on a small island – knowledge

More than 20 years ago, “parrot harvesters” put the ornithologist Martim Melo on the crucial track. Parrot harvesters are the names given to the indigenous people who specialized in taking parrot chicks from their nests in rainforest tree hollows, raising them by hand and then selling them as pets. Nobody knows the inaccessible rainforest of the island republic of São Tomé and Príncipe better.

One of the bird collectors, Ceciliano do Bom Jesus, called Bikegila, had made a discovery while climbing a parrot tree. Instead of parrots, the eyes of an unknown bird looked at him from a tree hole, which he described as somewhat spooky. Another bird collector had a similar experience. Melos, who came to Príncipe in the early 2000s to study the native bird life for his doctoral thesis, was piqued by their stories. The suspicion that it could be a previously unknown owl was obvious. “Many people who see an owl up close for the first time describe the eyes as scary, and like parrots, many owls nest in tree cavities,” he says Researchers from the University of Porto.

When Melo later heard a strange bird song at dusk during a joint expedition with Bikegila, the suspicion became a certainty. “It sounded completely different from any bird song I had ever heard, more like an insect than a bird,” recalls the ornithologist. The evaluation of the sound recordings on the computer showed a frequency range of the calls that is typical for owls. It was thus clear that in the inaccessible rainforest on Príncipe – an island of only 140 square kilometers in the Gulf of Guinea – there must be a species of owl whose existence had so far remained hidden from mankind.

Hardly discovered, already threatened with extinction

The biological wealth, but also the inaccessibility of the region is legendary among naturalists. “I’ve been to very difficult places, but this is the hardest of the hard, the worst of the bad,” Portuguese collector José Correia noted in his diary in 1928 while scouting for natural treasures on Príncipe for the American Museum of Natural History. And so, for Melo, Bikegila and other researchers, after the acoustic detection of the unknown owl species, it was to be almost 20 years before, after extensive searches, they were finally the first people to hold one of the owls in their hands.

As the researchers recently wrote in the journal Zookeys reported, they photographed the bird, drew blood samples for genetic analysis, and described minute details of almost every feather. One owl was killed and preserved as a type specimen – this is standard in the recognition process for new species. The scientists then undertook a tour of renowned natural history museums around the world to compare their owl’s characteristics with the specimens of similar birds stored there. After that it was clear: details of the external shape, coloring and pattern of the plumage, vocalizations and genetics – all characteristics differed from those of already known bird species. This confirmed the existence of the new species.

Her discoverers gave her the English name Príncipe scops-owl (Priincipe scops owl) or with the Latin technical name Otus bikegila. While Otus is the generic name for scops owls, the species name is honorific bikegila the former parrot harvester and current nature park ranger Ceciliano do Bom Jesus. “The discovery of the Príncipe scops owl was only possible thanks to Bikegila’s local knowledge and tireless efforts,” stresses Melo. “The circumstances of the discovery show that if we are to conserve biodiversity and advance knowledge about the world’s biodiversity, we cannot do without the knowledge and work of local people.”

The newly discovered owl faces an uncertain future. On the one hand, their occurrence is in a protected natural park, and the researchers estimate that between 1000 and 1500 of the nocturnal birds live there. On the other hand, the occurrence is limited to an extremely small area of ​​only about 15 square kilometers. This makes the species extremely vulnerable. Even a single major storm, fire or other natural disaster can mean the end of the population and thus the entire species in one fell swoop. A danger that has increased significantly as a result of climate change and the extreme weather conditions that are also associated with it in Africa. The scientists are also concerned about the construction of a hydroelectric power station near the birds’ breeding grounds. Because of these factors, researchers at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) have proposed classifying the Príncipe scops owl in the highest endangerment category as “critically endangered”.

Two messages from Príncipe to the World Conference on Nature

The researchers from Portugal and on the small island of Príncipe also see in their discovery a message to the World Biodiversity Conference that is about to begin, at which more than 190 countries want to conclude a global agreement to protect nature in Montreal. “The discovery of a new species of bird is always a cause for celebration and an incentive to protect the natural treasures that remain,” says Melo. “But the fact that it has to be classified as threatened with extinction immediately after its discovery shows depressingly well the current situation of biological diversity on our planet,” he adds thoughtfully.

The scientists had even considered not announcing their find until the start of the conference in early December, in order to reinforce their messages. They rejected the idea – but not the hope that two important signals to Canada would go out from the small island of Príncipe, which is only 140 square kilometers. “Even in the age of man-made species extinction, there are still many secrets of nature to be discovered – natural treasures that could soon no longer exist if we do not protect them decisively,” Melo summarizes one of the messages. The second reads: “Without the knowledge of local indigenous peoples, we cannot preserve biodiversity and advance knowledge about the world’s biodiversity. It would be fantastic if this little owl in Montreal became a symbol for both.”