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Two new species of owls have been discovered in the Philippines, and an MSU researcher played a key role in confirming their existence. (Top left: Cebu Hawk owl. Bottom right: Camiguin Hawk owl.) (Credit: Courtesy of Oriental Bird Club: original painting by John Gale)

ScienceDaily (Aug. 17, 2012) — Two new species of owls have been discovered in the Philippines, and a Michigan State University researcher played a key role in confirming their existence.

The discovery, which is featured in the current issue of Forktail, the Journal of Asian Ornithology, took years to confirm, but it was well worth the effort, said the paper’s lead author Pam Rasmussen, MSU assistant professor of zoology and assistant curator of mammalogy and ornithology at the MSU Museum.

“More than 15 years ago, we realized that new subspecies of Ninox hawk-owls existed in the Philippines,” she said. “But it wasn’t until last year that we obtained enough recordings that we could confirm that they were not just subspecies, but two new species of owls.”

Announcing the finding of a single bird is rare enough. But the discovery of two new bird species in a single paper is so rare that Rasmussen and the other researchers couldn’t recall the last time it happened.

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