[2] Like many of the Mascarene land-birds, the genus was a distinct relative to South-East Asian taxa, in this case apparently being a descendant of the direct ancestor of the Oriental scops owl.

[3] This insular scops owl had evolved gigantism, becoming twice as large and four times heavier than its continental ancestor.

[4] It is sometimes assumed that Leguat mentioned this bird in his 1708 memoir, but this seems to be in error; Julien Tafforet gave a good description in 1726, however.

Rothschild, however, described the larger bone as type of what he assumed was a miniature eagle owl, Bubo leguati.

It probably was unable to cope with the ecological alterations and the predation which resulted from the human settlement and the large rat population.