Andaman Masked Owl
The Andaman Barn Owl ( Tyto deroepstorffi ) is a species from the genus of owls, which is found only on the Andaman Islands. It has long been considered a subspecies of Barn Owl, but is viewed in more recent literature as an independent species. Your first describer of them still as Strix De - Reopstorffi then assigned a different genus, published in 1875 the article anonymously.
Features
The Andaman Barn Owl is occurring in Central Europe Barn Owl very similar, but the colors are contrasting. It reaches a body length from 30 to 36 centimeters and corresponds thus also in the body size of a barn owl. The body top is dark brown with reddish brown spots. White spots on the other hand are missing. The wings and tail are relatively short. The chest is brownish yellow with dark spots. The lower abdomen is whitish. Unlike in the barn owl the face veil is not greyish, the rim around the face veil is relatively wide and orange brown. The toes are much stronger than in the barn owl.
Very little is known about the life of the Andaman Barn Owl. Presumably they occupied on this island a similar ecological niche as barn owls on the mainland.