Papuan Owl

SCI Name:  Uroglaux dimorpha
Protonym:  Athene dimorpha Ann.Mus.Civ.Stor.Nat.Genova 6 p.308
Taxonomy:  Strigiformes / Strigidae / Uroglaux
Taxonomy Code:  paphao1
Type Locality:  Sorong, New Guinea.
Author:  Salvadori
Publish Year:  1874
IUCN Status:  Least Concern

DEFINITIONS

UROGLAUX
(Strigidae; Ϯ Papuan Hawk Owl U. dimorpha) Gr. ουρα oura  tail; γλαυξ glaux, γλαυκος glaukos  owl; "UROGLAUX, NEW GENUS.  TYPE.— Athene dimorpha Salvadori.  Medium-sized, with a hawklike appearance and a very long tail; tail about two-thirds of the length of the wing (index 63.5-72.7), against one-half or more (index 49-63) in the species of the genus Ninox; tail slightly rounded; cere quite inflated, nostrils small; tarsus very heavily feathered, feathers covering even the basal phalanx of the toes; bristles on the bare part of the toes only weakly developed; wing very round (5 > 4 > 6 > 3 > 7 > 2), the fifth primary being the longest, while in all the species of Ninox either the third or fourth primary is longest; the sixth primary is longer than the third, while in Ninox it is slightly or very much shorter; the emargination on primaries 2, 3 and 4 is weak, on 5 and 6 it is inconspicuous; the bases of the feathers of the crown are white; the pattern of coloration, consisting of bars on the upper parts and stripes below, is quite different from that of any species of the genus Ninox.   The first specimen that was brought to me by a New Guinea native was first mistaken by me for a hawk. Dr. Hartert, who was such a genus lumper, suggested already in 1930 (Novit. Zool., XXXVI, p. 110) that dimorpha should be separated generically from Ninox." (Mayr 1937).

dimorpha / dimorphicus
Gr. διμορφος dimorphos  dimorphic, of two forms  < δι- di-  double  < δις dis  twice  < δυο duo  two; μορφη morphē  form.
● “Il nome specifico dimorpha allude appunto al diverso disegno delle parti superiori e delle inferiori; queste come quelle dell’ O. brachyotus [= Asio flammeus] e le superiori come quelle delle due specie [Ninox rufa humeralis, Ninox rufa aruensis] descritte dello Schlegel” (Salvadori 1874) (Uroglaux).

Dimorpha
(Muscicapidae; syn. Ficedula † Rufous-gorgetted Flycatcher F. strophiata) Gr. διμορφος dimorphos  dimorphic, of two forms  < δι- di-  double  < δις dis  twice  < δυο duo  two; μορφη morphē  form; "19-20.  Saxicolinæ?   Chaitaris (χαιτη et ρις)  Miltava [sic]   Dimorpha (δι et μορφη)  Siphia    India Review, March 1837." (Hodgson 1841); "Dimorpha Hodgson, 1841, Journal Asiatic Soc. Bengal, X (1), (no. 109), p. 29.  Classical replacement name for Siphia Hodgson, a local substantive name considered inappropriate by some." (JAJ 2020) (see Alcopus).