The newly-discovered species, named the Desert Tawny Owl, belongs to the earless owl genus, Strix.
It is a medium-sized owl, 30 to 33 centimeters long, and weighing 140 to 220 grams.
It resembles the Hume’s Owl (Strix butleri) and the Tawny Owl (Strix aluco) in plumage pattern and proportions.
The species’ scientific name, Strix hadorami, honors Israeli ornithologist and writer Hadoram Shirihai.
“It is a special pleasure to name this bird for Hadoram Shirihai, a much-valued colleague and collaborator for 20 years,” Dr Schweizer and his colleagues wrote in a paper in the journal Zootaxa.
“Although Hadoram’s ornithological interests are staggeringly wide-ranging, his name is arguably particularly synonymous with this wonderful owl of wild places in the Middle East.
He discovered, when still a young boy, a live but poisoned specimen (of the Desert Tawny Owl) in En Gedi, which became the first individual to be held in captivity and is now a skeleton in the Tel Aviv University Museum.”
Owls are some of the forests’ most regal, mysterious and graceful models for wildlife photographers.
These photos by a photographer in Bangkok, Thailand who goes by Sasi Smith show the many different faces of these ferocious, silent hunters.
Sasi is a very prolific photographer, and he doesn’t just shoot owls – he has quite a lot of bird photography under his belt as well, especially of parrots.
Owl photography can be difficult, especially because of their amazing camouflage!
When someone as talented as Sasi gets it right, however, the results can be amazing; here are some more majestic owl photos that we’ve featured on Bored Panda!
Photographer Brad Wilson specialises in studio portraits of wild animals, from birds to primates to the diverse wildlife of the African safari.
His book Wild Life includes these portraits of different types of owls which were found at two wildlife sanctuaries and were recovering from various injuries
Great Grey Owl
Owls are some of the forests’ most regal, mysterious and graceful models for wildlife photographers.
Long-eared owl
Bay area artist, Lindsey Kustusch, has had her second solo show at STUDIO Gallery in San Francisco. 
