Scops owls are typical owls in family Strigidae belonging to the genus Otus and are restricted to the Old World. Otus is the largest genus of owls with 59 species. Scops owls are colored in various brownish hues, sometimes with a lighter underside and/or face, which helps to camouflage them against the bark of trees.

Even smaller even than the Little Owl, it is one of the few European owls that leaves its breeding grounds and migrates south during the winter. Visual Identification. The Eurasian Scops-owl is a small owl with prominent ear-tufts and large yellow eyes. Its plumage is mottled grey or brown, providing excellent camouflage against tree bark.

Smallish scops-owl with bright yellow eyes. Comes in grayish-brown and bright rufous morphs. Generally weakly marked, without any prominent features: note weak black border to the facial disc, thinly streaked underparts, and short ear tufts (often held flat).

The Eurasian scops owl (Otus scops), also known as the European scops owl, common scops owl or just scops owl, is a small owl in the typical owl family Strigidae. Its breeding range extends from southern Europe eastwards to southern Siberia and the western Himalayas.

The Eurasian scops owl (Otus scops) has a very broad ge­o­graphic range. The non-breed­ing ge­o­graphic range is in Africa and in­cludes the west African coast from Sene­gal south­ward to Liberia, to the east African coast from Sudan south­ward to Kenya.

Nov 28, 2024 · There are 56 species of Otus Scops Owls, and they are all wonderful – and that is a strictly scientific statement. This post covers twelve of them – though hopefully among us, we can add many more in the future. *** My encounter with the São Tomé Scops Owl was in Parque Natural Obô de São Tomé – and I have written about this particular trip before.

Oct 4, 2020 · The Eurasian Scops Owl is a small scops owl with cryptic plumage, relatively long wings, a short tail, and small erectile ear-tufts. It is also known as the Common Scops Owl. Photo Gallery (7 pictures)

Medium-sized owl with significant variation in plumage and vocalizations across its large range. Either gray or brown in coloration, with prominent pale ear tufts and pale face outlined in black. Fond of open wooded habitats from lowlands to foothills, often found roosting in temples, houses, and gardens, particularly in rural areas.

The Madagascar scops owl is a relatively small owl with short, rounded wings and short erectile ear-tufts on top of the head. There are three morphs recorded of this species: a grey-plumaged morph, a brown-plumaged morph and a rufous-plumaged morph. Features which stand out from the main plumage color are the pale eyebrows, light spots on the scapulars and the barring on …

Scops Owls are relatively small and most have prominent ear-tufts and short, rounded wings.