Albertine Owlet Glaucidium albertinum Scientific name definitions

c. 20 cm; female 73 g (n = 1 (1 König, C., F. Weick, and J.-H. Becking (2008). Owls of the World. Second Edition. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ) ). Smallish owlet  with maroon-brown upperparts; creamy spots on forehead, crown and nape; and creamy bars on upper mantle. Scapulars with beige edges; back and uppertail-coverts unmarked; flight-feathers brown with pale brown bars; dark tail with c. 7 narrow cream bands; upper chest maroon-brown with broad cream bars, rest of underparts white with maroon-brown spots; irides yellow. Differs from G. capense in distinctly spotted head and plain back; from G. casta­neum by colour of spots on head, colour of upperparts, amount of pale markings on scapulars and wing-coverts (fewer) and tail length (shorter) (1 König, C., F. Weick, and J.-H. Becking (2008). Owls of the World. Second Edition. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). ­Juvenile undescribed.

This and some other Old World owlet species placed in genus Taenioglaux by some recent authors (1 König, C., F. Weick, and J.-H. Becking (2008). Owls of the World. Second Edition. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close , 2 Mikkola, H. (2014). Owls of the World. A Photographic Guide. 2nd edition. Firefly Books, Buffalo, NY, USA. Close ). Present species thought to be most closely related to G. capense and G. castaneum; has been treated as conspecific with G. capense (3 Dickinson, E. C., and J. V. Remsen, Editors (2013). The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. Fourth edition. Volume 1. Aves Press, Eastbourne, UK. Close ). Monotypic.

Albertine Rift in E DRCongo and SW Rwanda.

Little information. Type specimen taken in dense undergrowth of primary montane forest; other specimens found in open montane and transitional forest with clearings but dense understorey. Reported from c. 1100 m to 1700 m (4 Bober, S. O., M. Herremans, M. Louette, J. C. Kerbis Peterhans, and J. M. Bates (2001). Geographical and altitudinal distribution of birds endemic to the Albertine Rift. Ostrich Supplement 15:189–196. Close ), but may occur up to 2500 m.

VULNERABLE. CITES II. Restricted-range species: present in Albertine Rift Mountains EBA (5 Stattersfield, A. J., M. J. Crosby, A. J. Long, and D. C. Wege (1998). Endemic Bird Areas of the World: Priorities for Biodiversity Conservation. BirdLife Conservation Series 7. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK. Close ). Status unknown, but small number of specimens collected from an area well explored by ornithologists suggests that species is quite rare. Known from 5 specimens: 2 collected at Lundjulu in E Zaire, and 1 each from Nyungwe Forest in Rwanda, Musangakye and Munga in Itombwe Mts. Population size roughly estimated at 3500–15,000 individuals; numbers probably declining owing to loss and degradation of native forest. Mountain forest W of L Edward and Nyungwe Forest in Rwanda have both been reduced in size. Kamituga has become an important mining centre, and possibility of clearance and economic exploitation in Itombwe Mts could become a major threat. Forest conservation plans have been prepared to protect mountains W of L Edward and Nyungwe Forest, although whether local authorities will implement them is ­uncertain.