Japanese Scops Owl (Otus semitorques)

Family
Strigidae (Typical Owls)

Size
23 - 25 cm

First Described (Guide)
Temminck & Schlegel, 1850

Habitat
From lowlands to low mountains. Farmland, tree lined streets, parks, woodland edges and forests.

Range (Guide)

Japan.

Status LC
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Habits
Crepuscular, nocturnal.

Food
Terrestrial insects, reptiles, small mammals and occasionally birds.

Voice
Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (46)...)

Japanese Scops Owl (Otus semitorques) [XC467655]
by Miyagi Kunitaro from Kunigami, Okinawa, Japan (call)

Japanese Scops Owl (Otus semitorques) [XC344453]
by JACOB Herv\u00e9 from Khasansky District, Primorsky Krai, Russian Federation (song)

Subspecies
Probably forms superspecies with Mentawai Scops-Owl (Otus mentawi), Indian Scops-Owl (Otus bakkamoena), Collared Scops-Owl (Otus lettia), Sunda Scops-Owl (Otus lempiji), Palawan Scops-Owl (Otus fuliginosus) and Luzon Lowland Scops-Owl (Otus megalotis). Formerly treated as subspecies of highly variable Indian Scops-Owl (Otus bakkamoena), but significant differences in vocalizations, as well in eye colour, indicate separate species. Sometimes considered to include subspecies ussuriensis of Collared Scops-Owl (Otus lettia), which closer to present species in voice and plumage characters, and also intermediate in eye colour. Possibly better included as subspecies of present species.

The following 3 subspecies are recognised:

semitorques Temminck & Schlegel, 1850 - Southern Kuril Is (Urup south to Kunashir), and Hokkaido south to Yakushima, including Sado, Tsushima, Goto Is and Yakushima.
pryeri (Gurney Sr, 1889) - Southern Izu Is (Hachijo) and southern Ryukyu Is (Okinawa to Iriomote).
ussuriensis (Buturlin, 1910) - Sakhalin, Ussuriland and north-eastern China.

References
See References.

Files:

JPG files for Japanese Scops Owl (Otus semitorques) - 10 files

More Information

BirdLife International

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BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

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