Eurasian Scops-Owl (Otus scops)

Other Names (World)
Eurasian Scops-Owl, Common Scops-Owl, European Scops-owl, Eurasian Scops Owl

Family
Strigidae (Typical Owls)

Size
16 - 21 cm
Wingspan: 47 - 54 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Linnaeus, 1758)

Habitat
Warm, dry lowlands in open mixed woodlands, parks with hollow trees.

Range (Guide)

Afghanistan (B), Albania (B), Algeria, Andorra (B), Armenia (B), Austria (B), Azerbaijan (B), Bahrain (P), Belarus (B), Benin, Bulgaria (B), Burkina Faso, Burundi (B), Cameroon, Cote dIvoire, Central African Republic, Chad, China (mainland) (B), Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], Croatia (Local Name: Hrvatska) (B), Cyprus (B) (NB), Czech Republic (B), Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea (B), Eritrea, Ethiopia, France (B) (NB), Gambia (B), Georgia (B), Ghana (B), Gibraltar (B), Greece (B) (NB) (P), Guinea, Hungary (B), Iran [Islamic Republic of] (B) (P), Iraq (B) (NB), Israel (B), Italy (B) (NB), Jordan (B) (P), Kazakhstan (B), Kenya, Kuwait (P), Kyrgyzstan (B), Lebanon (B) (NB) (P), Liberia, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Lithuania (B), Macedonia [The Former Yugoslav Republic of] (B) (NB), Mali, Malta (NB), Mauritania, Republic of Moldova (B), Mongolia (B), Montenegro (B), Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Oman (P), Pakistan (B), Palestinian Authority Territories (B), Poland (B), Portugal (B), Qatar (P), Romania (B), Russia (Asian) (B), Russia (Central Asian) (B), Russia (European) (B), Rwanda (B), Saudi Arabia (P), Senegal, Serbia (B), Sierra Leone, Slovakia (Slovak Republic) (B), Slovenia (B), Somalia (B), Spain (B) (NB), Sudan, Switzerland (B), Syrian Arab Republic (B) (P), Tajikistan (B), Tanzania [United Republic of], Togo, Tunisia, Turkey (B) (NB), Turkmenistan (B), Uganda, Ukraine (B) (NB), United Arab Emirates (P), Uzbekistan (B), Western Sahara, Yemen (P).

Vagrant to Belgium, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles, Sweden, United Kingdom.

Population
Estimated population is 1,000,000 - 3,000,000 (2011).

Status LC
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Food
Mainly insects, a few small birds, reptiles and mammals.

Voice
A repeated short, human-like whistle, like slow time signal pips.

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (498)...)

Eurasian Scops Owl (Otus scops) [XC78930]
by Jerome Fischer from Waldbronn, Baden-W\u00fcrttemberg, France (song)

Eurasian Scops Owl (scops) [XC883259]
by Marco Dragonetti from Albe\u0219tii P\u0103m\u00e2nteni, Comuna Albe\u0219tii de Arge\u0219, Jude\u021bul Arge\u0219, Greece (?)

Nest
In a hole of a tree, building or nest box. Occasionally in an old nest of a crow.

Eggs (Guide)
4 - 5; smooth, glossy, white.

Subspecies
Otus scops (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) has been split into African Scops-Owl (Otus senegalensis) following Dowsett and Forbes-Watson (1993), Oriental Scops-Owl (Otus sunia) following AOU (1998), Nicobar Scops-Owl (Otus alius) following Rassmussen (1998) and Eurasian Scops-Owl (Otus scops).

Probably forms superspecies with Pallid Scops-Owl (Otus brucei), African Scops-Owl (Otus senegalensis), Oriental Scops-Owl (Otus sunia) and Flammulated Owl (Psiloscops flammeolus). Formerly considered to include Mindanao Highland Scops-Owl (Otus mirus), Luzon Highland Scops-Owl (Otus longicornis), Mindoro Scops-Owl (Otus mindorensis), Pallid Scops-Owl (Otus brucei), African Scops-Owl (Otus senegalensis), Oriental Scops-Owl (Otus sunia), Mantanani Scops-Owl (Otus mantananensis), Ryukyu Scops-Owl (Otus elegans), Simeulue Scops-Owl (Otus umbra), Enggano Scops-Owl (Otus enganensis) and even Sao Tome Scops-Owl (Otus hartlaubi), all now shown to be separated specifically by voice and, in some cases by DNA.

The following 6 subspecies are recognised:

scops (Linnaeus, 1758) - France, Italy and central Mediterranean islands east to Volga R, south to northern Greece, northern Turkey and Transcaucasia; intergrades with pulchellus.
pulchellus (Pallas, 1771) - Volga R east to L Baikal, south to Altai and Tien Shan.
mallorcae von Jordans, 1923 - Iberia, Balearic Is, north-western Africa (north-central Morocco to Tunisia).
cycladum (Tschusi, 1904) - Southern Greece and southern Asia Minor, south to central Israel and Jordan.
cyprius (Madarász, 1901) - Cyprus. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Cyprus Scops Owl (Otus cyprius).
turanicus (Loudon, 1905) - Iraq and Iran (and perhaps this subspecies south-eastern Turkey) east to north-western Pakistan.

References
See References.

The Reader's Digest Book of British Birds 1980, 3rd Edition, Drive Publications Ltd ISBN 0 340 25308 8
Birds in Colour Campbell, B., 1960, Penguin Books Ltd
The Pocket Guide to Nest and Eggs Fitter, R.S.R., 1954, Collins
RSPB Handbook of British Birds Holden, P., Cleeves, T., 2002, A & C Black ISBN 0 7136 5713 8
Birds of Britain and Europe Sterry, P., et al., 2001, AA Publishing ISBN 0 7495 3068 5
The Popular Handbook of British Birds Hollom, P.A.D., 1973, H.F. & G. Witherby Ltd ISBN 0 85493 002 7

Files:

JPG files for Eurasian Scops-Owl (Otus scops) - 10 files

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