Barn-owls (Tytonidae)

Congo Bay-owl (Phodilus prigoginei) - HBW 5, p. 75

French: Phodile de Prigogine German: Kongomaskeneule Spanish: Lechuza del Congo
Other common names: African/Prigogine’s/Tanzanian Bay-owl, Congo/Itombwe Owl

Taxonomy: Phodilus Prigoginei Schouteden, 1952, Muusi, 2432 m, Itombwe Mountains, Zaire.
Occasionally treated as race of P. badius, but this seems hardly probable, and the two do not appear closely related; inclusion in Phodilus perhaps questionable; present species shows some similarities to P. badius in plumage coloration, but shape of facial disc rather different, more heart-shaped, as in Tyto. Monotypic.

Distribution: Itombwe (Mitumba) Massif, extreme E Zaire; also probably adjacent SW Rwanda (Nyungwe forest) and NW Burundi (near Teza).