Facts about Albertine Owlet. The Albertine Owlet is only known from half a dozen specimens picked up from around Lake Edward in Africa. The Albertine Owlet was only identified as a separate species when older specimens were studied several decades later.
"Scientific name of Albertine Owlet is Glaucidium albertinum". The Albertine Owlet is similar to the African Barred Owlet. The Albertine Owlet, also called the Prigogine’s Owlet, was first identified as a separate species in 1988 by Collar and Andrew. The Albertine Owlet was previously identified as Glaucidium capense castaneum in 1953. Regardless of taxonomy, which is still under investigation, it is a member of the Strigidae family.
Appearance of Albertine Owlet
The Albertine Owlet is around 8 to 10 inches (20.3 to 25.4 cm) tall, close in size to the Glaucidium capsense; the species is considered a Pygmy Owl. The wing span is around fifteen inches (38 cm). The Albertine Owlet has a large head but no “horns” or ear tufts. The Albertine Owlet has a round head with brown feathers, heavily spotted with white. The mantle is not spotted. It has a spotted belly. The mantle is a mixture of yellow and black. This owl looks a lot like the African Barred Owlet but not as intensely colored.
Females are slightly larger than the males. It has no difference in plumage between males and females.
Habitat of Albertine Owlet
The Glaucidium albertinum lives in transitional forest, forest clearings, and the forest understory. The Albertine Owlet may live at elevations up to 7,500 feet (2286 meters) based on the calls of closely related species. However, the call of the Glaucidium albertinum species is not well documented.
Range of Albertine Owlet
The owl is classified as vulnerable. The Albertine Owlet is found at only four scattered locations in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Albertine Owlet is found in the Itombwe Mountains along the border of Congo with Rwanda and Burundi. The population is thought to number in the thousands, but a full population survey is not known. The population estimate is based on its known range (based on sightings) and the population density of closely related species in the same habitat.
The species is thought to be in decline due to the deforestation of its habitat by humans. The bird does exist inside the Kahuzi-Biéga National Park and Nyungwe Forest Reserve.
The related African Barred Owlet’s range is much better known; it ranges from Liberia to Somalia to the Congo.
Behavior of Albertine Owlet
This pygmy owl eats invertebrates like its close relatives as well as small rodents and birds that it can catch. Not much else is known about its behavior. The Albertine Owlet is probably diurnal like the related African barred owlet.
Trivia about Albertine Owlet
The Albertine Owlet species was relatively recently discovered by the analysis of existing specimens and the realization that it was a separate species from a closely related one, African Barred Owlet. The African Barred Owlet was first identified by A. Smith in 1834 and has five known subspecies. It was considered just one more subspecies of the wide-ranging and populous African Barred Owlet until newer specimens arrived in the 1980s to cause older specimens to be re-examined. The African Barred Owlet is considered near threatened due to habitat loss, refugees flooding into the area to cut down forest for firewood, and farm the area.