Birdfinding.info ⇒ Dominica’s endemic form of the Lesser Antillean Barn Owl occurs island-wide, but is rarely encountered by chance. Most sightings are at known roosting sites. A pair has been seen regularly at St. Paul & St. Anne in Massacre, and another at the St. John & St. Lewis Catholic Church in Portsmouth.
“Dominica Barn Owl”
Tyto insularis nigrescens
Endemic to Dominica.
Identification
A small-to-medium-sized barn owl that has dark brown upperparts with fine whitish speckles and tawny underparts with sparse dark speckles. The facial disk has a rusty or vinaceous tone.
“Dominica Barn Owl,” T. i. nigrescens. (St. Paul & St. Anne Catholic Church, Massacre, Dominica; March 21, 2014.) © Alan Van Norman
The sexes differ in the coloration of the underparts: males tend to appear paler and buffy, females tend to appear darker and more cinnamon.
“Dominica Barn Owl,” T. i. nigrescens, male above and female below. (St. Paul & St. Anne Catholic Church, Massacre, Dominica; March 21, 2014.) © Alan Van Norman
Judging from the relatively few available photos of the two forms, the “Dominica Barn Owl” differs from the “Grenadian Barn Owl” (insularis) of St. Vincent, Grenada, and the Grenadines in having more uniformly dark-brown upperparts and sparser, finer speckles on both the upperparts and the underparts.
“Dominica Barn Owl,” T. i. nigrescens, a relatively pale male. (Colihaut, Dominica; November 12, 2009.) © John C. Mittermeier
“Dominica Barn Owl,” T. i. nigrescens, showing uniformly dark-brown upperparts with subtle bands on wings. (St. Paul & St. Anne Catholic Church, Massacre, Dominica; March 21, 2014.) © Alan Van Norman
Voice. There appear to be no publicly available recordings of the “Dominica Barn Owl”. König & Weick (2008) state that: “A piercing scream and clicking notes have been recorded on Dominica.” Available recordings of the “Grenadian” form include high-pitched screams. Additional recordings and/or careful descriptions of vocalizations from both populations would help to clarify their relationship.
Notes
Monotypic form, one of two potentially distinct forms of the Lesser Antillean Barn Owl (T. insularis). Traditionally classified as a subspecies of the Barn Owl (T. alba) and more recently as a subspecies of either the American Barn Owl (T. furcata) or the Ashy-faced Owl (T. glaucops).
More Images of the “Dominica Barn Owl”
“Dominica Barn Owl,” T. i. nigrescens. (St. Paul & St. Anne Catholic Church, Massacre, Dominica; March 21, 2014.) © Alan Van Norman
“Dominica Barn Owl,” T. i. nigrescens, male. (St. John & St. Lewis Catholic Church, Portsmouth, Dominica; March 23, 2023.) © Gary Chapin
“Dominica Barn Owl,” T. i. nigrescens, male showing profile of its facial disk. (St. Paul & St. Anne Catholic Church, Massacre, Dominica; March 21, 2014.) © Alan Van Norman
“Dominica Barn Owl,” T. i. nigrescens, female. (St. Paul & St. Anne Catholic Church, Massacre, Dominica; March 21, 2014.) © Alan Van Norman
“Dominica Barn Owl,” T. i. nigrescens, female, showing the deep cinnamon tone of the underparts. (St. Paul & St. Anne Catholic Church, Massacre, Dominica; March 21, 2014.) © Alan Van Norman
“Dominica Barn Owl,” T. i. nigrescens, female, vocalizing. (St. Paul & St. Anne Catholic Church, Massacre, Dominica; March 21, 2014.) © Alan Van Norman
“Dominica Barn Owl,” T. i. nigrescens, male with face “folded” during daytime rest. (St. Paul & St. Anne Catholic Church, Massacre, Dominica; October 19, 2018.) © Peter Kaestner
“Dominica Barn Owl,” T. i. nigrescens, facial close-up. (St. Paul & St. Anne Catholic Church, Massacre, Dominica; March 21, 2014.) © Alan Van Norman
References
Aliabadian, M., N. Alaei-Kakhki, O. Mirshamsi, V. Nijman, and A. Roulin. 2016. Phylogeny, biogeography, and diversification of barn owls (Aves: Strigiformes). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 119:904-918.
eBird. 2023. eBird: An online database of bird distribution and abundance. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, N.Y. http://www.ebird.org. (Accessed September 29, 2023.)
Enríquez, P.L., K. Eisermann, H. Mikkola, and J.C. Motta-Junior. 2017. A Review of the Systematics of Neotropical Owls (Strigiformes), Neotropical Owls: Diversity and Conservation (P.L. Enríquez, ed.). Springer International Publishing, Cham, Switzerland.
iNaturalist. 2023. https://www.inaturalist.org/. (Accessed September 29, 2023.)
Kirwan, G.M., A. Levesque, M. Oberle, and C.J. Sharpe. 2019. Birds of the West Indies. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
König, C., and F. Weick. 2008. Owls of the World (Second Edition). Yale University Press.
Mikkola, H. 2013. Owls of the World: A Photographic Guide (Second Edition). Firefly Books, London.
Raffaele, H., J. Wiley, O. Garrido, A. Keith, and J. Raffaele. 1998. A Guide to the Birds of the West Indies. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J.