Andaman Masked Owl

The Andaman masked owl is a barn owl endemic to the southern Andaman Islands, 30–36 cm long including an 11 cm tail. It is almost uniformly dark reddish brown above with some buffish-orange speckling and a more yellowish torso than the common barn owl. The facial disc is pale reddish buff with a distinctive orange-brown margin, the eyes are blackish and the beak creamy white. Some authors treat it as a subspecies of the common barn owl and others as a species in its own right (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is not thought to be migratory. It is nocturnal, roosting by day and emerging at dusk, and it feeds on small rodents, the bones of mice and rats having been found in pellets beneath roosts. It probably nests in cavities, but its breeding habits are not known. SoIB 2023 treats it as an Andaman endemic, a resident of non-specialised habitat that eats vertebrates and carrion, without a priority category (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).