Siau scops owl

The Siau scops owl (Otus siaoensis) is a critically endangered owl species. They live on Siau Island, north of Sulawesi, Indonesia and are (were) forest dwellers. The species is only known from a single holotype from 1866 although there have been more recent potential sightings, including one in 2017.^[4] Nonetheless, their already small, relatively barren habitat is being lost to excessive logging of the little forest present on the island and there are assumed to be very few individuals left, if any. The taxonomic arrangement for this owl has not been fully worked out. While recognized as a distinct species by the IOC, others consider it as a subspecies of either the Sulawesi scops owl or Moluccan scops owl, and it has recently been analyzed and found to be closest in morphology to Sangihe scops owl.^[5]

Siau scops owl
Conservation status
Critically Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Strigiformes
Family:	Strigidae
Genus:	Otus
Species:	O. siaoensis
Binomial name
Otus siaoensis (Schlegel, 1873)
Synonyms
Otus manadensis siaoensis[3] Otus magicus siaoensis

On December 14, 2017, a video of a purported Siau Scops-Owl trapped in a building was uploaded to YouTube (see external links). Although it has been the subject of debate, the scientific community has not been able to confirm the bird's identification.