Observe: This can be a collaborative submit using the collective expertise, brainpower, and enthusiasm of a number of 10,000 Birds writers as an instance and showcase the magnificent hen household that’s the Scops Owl, hopefully supporting a paradigm shift that may additional improve the popularity of Otus amongst ornithologists and birdwatchers alike. And no, this sentence was not written by ChatGPT, although it sounds prefer it was.
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There are 56 species of Otus Scops Owls, and they’re all fantastic – and that could be a strictly scientific assertion. This submit covers twelve of them – although hopefully amongst us, we are able to add many extra sooner or later.
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My encounter with the São Tomé Scops Owl was in Parque Pure Obô de São Tomé – and I’ve written about this specific journey earlier than. We had been tenting and whereas my information António was cooking, the scops owl was calling within the distance. António known as again and for the subsequent 40 minutes, the inter-species duet between man and owl continued. The owl got here nearer however by no means shut sufficient for us to identify. The following day we left camp and virtually instantly noticed the scops owl in a tree. Diurnal mammal spots nocturnal hen – pleased instances.
Spot the owl – it’s not simple, however my evening on that soaked mountain wasn’t a picnic both! Intriguingly, my fellow SPEA board member Martim Melo described the sister species Principe Scops Owl shortly after I visited São Tomé e Principe – leaving me with an excellent cause to return to the islands (Peter Penning).
Bonus Scops Owl: Principe Scops Owl as seen and photographed by Martim Melo.
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The truth that I can spot it in daytime throughout migration is without doubt one of the many explanation why I like the Oriental Scops Owl. Additionally, it seems to be a bit like a hybrid between a cartoon satan and a barely evil cat.
And it even is available in two totally different colours, greyish-brown and reddish, giving me a great cause to point out not one however two photographs. On the most effective days within the autumn migration, it’s doable to see about 10 of those flying cats contained in the Nanhui microforests of Shanghai (Kai Pflug).
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One other good excuse for exhibiting two photographs of the identical species is in case you can present a chick – right here is certainly one of a Collared Scops Owl. In Jixi, Anhui, China, the guardian watched carefully from close by.
Unusually, many Chinese language hen photographers strolling very shut by utterly neglected each owls – that they had come for the white morph of a male Amur Paradise Flycatcher that was the native attraction. Now that hen could also be prettier for most individuals, however not for me (Kai Pflug).
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Cyprus Scops Owl was a basic arm-chair tick for me: it was a hen that I knew effectively when it was nonetheless thought to be merely an island race of the widespread European Scops Owl. It’s solely comparatively not too long ago that it has been elevated to full species standing. It’s a typical resident all through the island and will be heard even within the Troodos Mountains, nevertheless it’s a troublesome hen to see. I’ve fond reminiscences of watching birds at Agios Ermogenis, near the Curium, the place these diminutive owls stay in towering eucalyptus timber.
This yr I returned to Cyprus for the primary time since Otus cyprius turned a full species. Although a calling hen greeted me on my first evening on the island, frustratingly I did not see it, although it was solely ft away. The decision is diagnostic, consisting of two notes in a inflexible sequence: a quiet be aware, adopted by a brief silence, then a loud be aware, and a protracted silence. It’ll repeat these two notes monotonously for minutes on finish. If I had managed to see it, I might have seen a darker, greyer hen than O. scops, however one that’s in any other case very related. (David Tomlinson)
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The Serendib Scops-Owl is definitely a part of the “Otus premium membership” (which might have many members, admittedly). It was solely found the yr I used to be born (2001), which made me significantly desperate to see it within the rainforests of Sri Lanka to which it’s endemic. I’ve seen this species a number of instances within the Sinharaja Forest – the primary time with my instructor (and fellow birder) on a faculty area journey. Not solely is that this the rarest owl I’ve ever seen, nevertheless it was additionally among the finest Otus sightings I’ve had (Luca Feuerriegel).
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The Eurasian Scops-Owl is in fact far more frequent and widespread than the opposite species I’ve described right here, the Serendib Scops-Owl. It’s subsequently ironic that the sighting of it was a lot much less anticipated and much worse. Not that I got here throughout it accidentally. Actually, the alternative is true as I twitched the hen in a neighborhood in Bonn, Germany. The hen was calling actively and briefly perched in a gap on the prime of a housing block. I’m trying ahead to seeing this hen in its Mediterranean habitat and in circumstances that don’t pressure me to crank up my digital camera’s ISO (Luca Feuerriegel).
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Of the 55 members of the genus Optus, the African Scops (Otus senegalis) has by far the largest vary, as it’s extensively distributed in Sub-Saharan Africa, from Senegambia throughout to Ethiopia and all the best way south to Botswana and South Africa. It’s a hen of the savannahs somewhat than the rain forest, so it absent from the Congo basin.
Just like the European Scops Owl (O.scops), with which it was as soon as lumped, it’s a strictly nocturnal hen, which makes it a problem to see. I’d heard it many instances in East Africa – its distinctive frog-like calls are repeated each 5-8 seconds – however I’d typically struggled to see it. My best-ever views had been in Namibia, at Halali Camp in Etosha. The camp boys often know the place these diminutive owls are roosting, and in return for a modest tip will present one to you.
European Scops Owl additionally happens as a wintering hen within the Sahel zone. The 2 are virtually equivalent in look, however within the hand, senegalis has a unique wing components, its primaries barely shorter, indicating that it’s a non-migratory African Scops Owl (David Tomlinson)
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Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, a protected space off the east coast of Kenya, options Brachystegia woodlands and Cynometra forest. And the place these timber develop, you will see that essentially the most lovable Sokoke Scops-Owl, Otus ireneae. (I do know, saying “lovable” and “scops-owl” in the identical sentence is repetitive.) Wikipedia says it’s the smallest of the Scops-Owls, Handbook of Birds of the World merely says that it’s small, 15-18 centimeters in size. After I visited Kenya in 2023, an area information supplied by the Wildlife Service had us wait. It was a brief wait, about 20 minutes, after which he led us to an space of seemingly undisturbed, thick shrubbery. And in the midst of this shrubbery was this good, compactly structured, tiny, reddish creature. We quietly seen the Sokoke Scops-Owl in small teams. Although it seems to be ticked off on this photograph, it afterward closed its eyes and did its scops-owl factor, which was to disregard the foolish people and wait till darkish, when it may get its fill of scarab beetles, crickets, and small birds. Sokoke Scops-Owl is endangered, discovered solely on this tiny space in Kenya and related habitat in northeast Tanzania. It’s certainly one of a number of endemic creatures discovered within the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest (Golden-rumped Elephant Shrew, anybody?). The loggers are eyeing the forest and local weather change presents its personal challenges to this very particular habitat. The time to see this Scops-Owl is NOW (Donna Schulman).
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The Japanese Scops Owl is a uncommon customer to Shanghai – I’ve seen it twice up to now in by now most likely virtually 1000 visits to Nanhui, Shanghai. A take a look at its Cornell entry and distribution map explains why – it’s non-migratory, and although it’s not restricted to Japan in any respect, additionally breeding within the Koreas, elements of Russia, and Northern China, its regular vary continues to be fairly a bit north of Shanghai (Kai Pflug).
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In distinction, the identify of the Sulawesi Scops Owl is sort of a bit extra becoming because the species actually solely lives on Sulawesi and some satellite tv for pc islands. I noticed this owl close to Manado, a metropolis on Sulawesi – which match properly with the owl’s scientific identify, Otus manadensis. Admittedly, on this case, seeing the owl was a bit like getting a comfort prize – I had spent a fruitless afternoon in a blind ready for a Sulawesi Pitta which did not cross the fundamental avian courtesy rule “Birds needs to be seen not heard” – and for a photographer like me, simply listening to a hen is nearly extra irritating than not getting any signal of life in any respect (Kai Pflug).
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Then again, the Moluccan Scops Owl was certainly the primary goal of that night after I had did not see it the evening earlier than and was already progressively falling into the standard existential doubts about whether or not this species actually existed. Happily, I can now say it does. Apparently not solely on Halmahera, the place I noticed it, however on a number of main islands within the broader space as effectively. And as everybody is aware of, a number of islands imply a number of subspecies, certainly one of which, the Wetar Scops Owl, has already been promoted to full species. Sadly for this species, it thus misplaced the somewhat lovely scientific identify of the Moluccan Scops Owl, Otus magicus, the Magic Scops Owl (Kai Pflug).
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This submit was already accomplished and to be printed after I traveled to East Java and noticed my first Sunda Scops Owl. It appears to be fairly frequent there (I noticed two inside 100 meters of one another and heard a number of extra). Much more surprisingly, I observed that the Cornell entry on this owl has simply been up to date on October 22, 2024 – these updates appear rarer than owl spottings to me. The scientific identify is Otus (in fact!) lempiji, which apparently is the Javanese identify for the owl. Curiously (although that is utterly irrelevant info), the writer of the owl entry is one Chuenchom Hansasuta, who obtained a Physician of Dental Surgical procedure from Chulalongkorn College, the place I as soon as did a presentation on one of many dental merchandise I developed after I was nonetheless doing actual chemistry somewhat than consulting. I did warn you that this was irrelevant info (Kai Pflug).
All photographs by the respective authors, although Peter will most likely declare he didn’t take his.
