This is the Golden Masked Owl, also called the New Britain Barn or Masked Owl. It is found only on the island of New Britain, east of Papua New Guinea. There are estimated to be 2500 to 10,000 of these owls.
They live in tree hollows in coniferous forests, where they hunt mostly ground dwelling mammals and insects. They are also prey themselves to larger eagles and hawks, so protected nesting and roosting areas are important.
I picked this owl today to lead into a post for tomorrow about "The Trail of the Golden Owl" that I just learned about. It's a 30 year old mystery/treasure hunt that is still unsolved, involving a buried brass owl and a reward of a golden, gem encrusted owl as the reward. I'm going to do some more reading on it today, so hopefully this doesn't turn out to be a dud, but it sounds fun!
Meanwhile, he's some now real Golden Owls!
The South Pacific had so many great barn owls! I keep looking for great photos, but they seen somewhat rare as many species are limited in range.
I'll definitely share them when I find them!