Chance encounter

In April, this year, a group of researchers set out for the Itombwe forest in eastern Zaire, an area known for its rare and fragile
biodiversity. The team, whose
trip was funded by New York's Bronx zoo-based Wildlife Conservation Society, was treated
to a brief encounter with the
Congo bay owl. The bird was
last seen in 1951. The Congo bay
owl or Phodilus prigoginei, spotted, was about a foot tall and seemed
to be a female. Its coat was a
rich chestnut colour with white spots.