Taliabu Masked-Owl Tyto nigrobrunnea

A distinctive barn-owl species confined to Taliabu in the Moluccas. Shows a characteristic heart-shaped pale face bordered with a broad black line. Underparts are dingy buff with scattered spotting. Upperparts, top of head, and nape are largely uniform dark brown with indistinct pale spots. Thinly distributed in a variety of habitats including forest, forest edge, bamboo thickets, and open areas across a broad elevational range. Unmistakable: the only barn-owl species on Taliabu. Call is a coarse, shrill high-pitched shriek: “sheeeer.”