Scops Owls
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Scops owls are a genus Otus of owls.
Fossil record
Some fossil evidence shows that all scops owls evolved from a tropical North American species. The screech owl fossils found in Kansas from the Upper Pliocene, support this hypothesis. However, the genus Otus also has a different placement of the procoracoid bone (less of an anterior incline) and coracoid bone, when it is compared to other "New World owls" (Ford, 472). an alternative view is that the scops owls evolved from Asian relatives (Johnson,1).
The 2003 revision to the AOU checklist places most of the New World members of this genus in Megascops Kaup, 1848. See ITIS entry. However, the Flammulated Owl is excluded.
Size and appearance
The scops owls are compact in size and shape and the female is usually larger than the male. Otus flameolus and Otus asio are two of the smallest species of owls in North America (BONA, 369). All of the birds in this genus are small and agile. Their gray, brown, and sometimes even red coloration is perfect for camouflaging them against the bark of trees.
Food and foraging habits
The scops owls take a wide variety of food items, including large insects, earthworms, aquatic invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles, small mammals like bats and mice, fish, and even other small birds. Owls are nocturnal hunters. They ususally hunt from a perch, in a large "semi-open landscape" with many old trees that have unoccupied cavities (Marchesi and Seergio, 1). The scops owl's good sense of hearing helps them find prey in any habitat, and the well developed raptorial claws and curved bill are used for ripping flesh (FDC). Screech owls usually eat their prey in their cavity nests, to make sure that they are not themselves attacked by a larger predatory bird.
Social structure and mating habits
The scops owls are primarily solitary birds, until breeding begins during late winter. The male screech owl will usually make a nest for the female to choose. The female will choose which male she prefers, by the quality of the cavity and food located inside (FDC). Most of the female owls in the Otus genus lay and incubate their eggs in a cavity nest, which is usually made by another animal.
Scops owls are monogamous birds with biparental care, and the male will feed the female during the incubation period (FDC). This genus only fledges one young per year. The young of most of the birds in this genus are altricial to semialtricial (TBH, 296-298).
Species
- White-fronted Scops Owl, Otus sagittatus
- Andaman Scops Owl, Otus balli
- Reddish Scops Owl, Otus rufescens
- Sandy Scops Owl, Otus icterorhynchus
- Sokoke Scops Owl, Otus ireneae
- Flores Scops Owl, Otus alfredi
- Mountain Scops Owl, Otus spilocephalus
- Rajah Scops Owl, Otus brookii
- Javan Scops Owl, Otus angelinae
- Mentawai Scops Owl, Otus mentawi
- Indian Scops Owl, Otus bakkamoena
- Collared Scops Owl, Otus (bakkamoena) lettia
- Sunda Scops Owl, Otus lempiji
- Japanese Scops Owl, Otus semitorques
- Wallace's Scops Owl, Otus silvicola
- Palawan Scops Owl, Otus fuliginosus
- Philippine Scops Owl, Otus megalotis
- Mindanao Scops Owl, Otus mirus
- Luzon Scops Owl, Otus longicornis
- Mindoro Scops Owl, Otus mindorensis
- Pallid Scops Owl, Otus brucei
- African Scops Owl, Otus senegalensis : The African Scops Owl is a small owl endemic to sub-Saharan Africa.
- European Scops Owl, Otus scops
- Oriental Scops Owl, Otus sunia : The Oriental Scops Owl is a species of Scops owl found in South Asia. They are found in dry deciduous forests. They are usually detected by their distinctive call of slowly repeated Wug-chug-chug.
- Flammulated Owl, Otus flammeolus
- Moluccan Scops Owl, Otus magicus
- Mantanani Scops Owl, Otus mantananensis
- Ryūkyū Scops Owl, Otus elegans
- Sulawesi Scops Owl, Otus manadensis
- Sangihe Scops Owl, Otus collari
- Biak Scops Owl, Otus beccarii
- Seychelles Scops Owl, Otus insularis : The Seychelles Scops Owl is a rare scops owl species, which only occurs in the Morne Seychellois National Park on the Seychelles island of Mahé. It reaches a length between 19 and 22 cm. The wings are about 17 cm. Its plumage is rufous brown and exhibits black shaft streaks. The underparts and the facial disc are rufous. The long grey legs are unfeathered. The eyes are large and golden yellow. The ear tufts are very small.
- Simeulue Scops Owl, Otus umbra
- Enggano Scops Owl, Otus enganensis
- Nicobar Scops Owl, Otus alius
- Pemba Scops Owl, Otus pembaensis
- Comoro Scops Owl, Otus pauliani : The Comoro Scops Owl is an owl endemic to the Comoro Islands. This species is a part of the larger grouping of owls known as typical owls, Strigidae, which contains most species of owl. The other grouping is the barn owls, Tytonidae. This owl is found only on Mount Karthala, an active volcano on Grand Comoro. It has an estimated population of 2,000. It is classified as Critically Endangered due to it being restricted to such as small area, which is being rapidly deforested.
Siau Scops Owl, Otus siaoensis : The Siau Scops Owl is a critically endangered owl and may be extinct. They live on the island of Siau, north of Sulawesi, Indonesia and are (were) forest dwellers. The species is only known from a single holotype from 1866 although their have been some local reports in recent years. Even so their population (which was small to begin with because of limited range) is being devistated by loss of habit due to excessive logging of the forest on the island and there would be very few if any indivuals left. The future for this owl does not look good.- Anjouan Scops Owl, Otus capnodes : The Anjouan Scops Owl is an owl endemic to the Comoro Islands. This species is a part of the larger grouping of owls known as typical owls, Strigidae, which contains most species of owl. The other grouping is the barn owls, Tytonidae. This owl is found on the island of Anjouan. It has an estimated population of less than 400. It is classified as Critically Endangered due to it being restricted to such as small area, which is being rapidly deforested. This species was rediscovered in June 1992, after an absence of records dating back to 1886.
- Moheli Scops Owl, Otus moheliensis : The Moheli Scops Owl is an owl endemic to the Comoro Islands. This species is a part of the larger grouping of owls known as typical owls, Strigidae, which contains most species of owl. The other grouping is the barn owls, Tytonidae. This owl is found on only one mountain on the island of Mohéli. It has an estimated population of 400. It is classified as Critically Endangered due to it being restricted to such as small area, which is being rapidly deforested.
- Mayotte Scops Owl, Otus mayottensis
- Malagasy Scops Owl, Otus rutilus
- Serendib Scops Owl, Otus thilohoffmanni
- Torotoroka Scops Owl, Otus madagascariensis
- Sao Tome Scops Owl, Otus hartlaubi
- Western Screech Owl, Otus kennicottii
- Balsas Screech Owl, Otus seductus
- Pacific Screech Owl, Otus cooperi : The Pacific Screech Owl is a medium-large owl. Their habitat is entirely on the Pacific coast of North and Central America, ranging from Central Oaxaca, Southern Mexico to about as far south as Central Costa Rica. They are strictly nocturnal, preying mostly on large insects (such as moths, beetles, scorpions) along with the occasional small rodent.
- Whiskered Screech Owl, Otus trichopsis
- Eastern Screech Owl, Otus asio
- Tropical Screech Owl, Otus choliba
- Koepcke's Screech Owl, Otus koepckeae
- West Peruvian Screech Owl, Otus roboratus
- Bare-shanked Screech Owl, Otus clarkii
- Bearded Screech Owl, Otus barbarus
- Rufescent Screech Owl, Otus ingens
- Colombian Screech Owl, Otus colombianus
- Cinnamon Screech Owl, Otus petersoni
- Cloud-forest Screech Owl, Otus marshalli
- Tawny-bellied Screech Owl, Otus watsonii
- Guatemalan Screech Owl, Otus guatemalae
- Vermiculated Screech Owl, Otus vermiculatus
- Hoy's Screech Owl, Otus hoyi
- Variable Screech Owl, Otus atricapillus
- Long-tufted Screech Owl, Otus sanctaecatarinae
- Puerto Rican Screech Owl, Otus nudipes
- White-throated Screech Owl, Otus albogularis
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