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. Some are polymorphic, occurring in a greyish- and a reddish-brown morph. They are small and agile, with both sexes being compact in size and shape. Female scops owls are usually larger than males.
For most of the 20th century, this genus included the American screech owls, which are now again separated in Megascops based on a range of behavioral, biogeographical, morphological and DNA sequence data.
The Eurasian scopsowl (Otus scops), also known as the European scopsowl or just scopsowl, is a small owl in the typical owl family Strigidae. Its breeding...
The African scopsowl (Otus senegalensis) is a small owl which is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa. William John Swainson first described the species in...
fragmentation. The Philippine scopsowl is a fairly small-to-mid-sized species of owl, but is arguably the largest true species of scopsowl. Adults measure from...
The oriental scopsowl (Otus sunia) is a species of scopsowl found in eastern and southern Asia. Call Call of oriental scopsowl recorded in Parambikulam...
eyes, which differentiate it from the reddish scops, mountain scops, Oriental scops and Rajah scopsowls. It lives on the Malay Peninsula, Singapore, Borneo...
Japanese scops-owl (Otus semitorques) is a small owl species in the family Strigidae, or true owl family. It is a member of the genus Otus, the scopsowl genus...
between a scopsowl and an eagle-owl. Its natural habitat is tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss. The giant scopsowl was originally...
3-5 eggs. The collared scopsowl is a small (23–25 cm) owl, although it is the largest of the scopsowls. Like other scopsowls, it has small head tufts...
The Siau scopsowl (Otus siaoensis) is a critically endangered owl species. They live on Siau Island, north of Sulawesi, Indonesia and are (were) forest...
The Serendib scopsowl (Otus thilohoffmanni) is the most recently discovered bird of Sri Lanka. It was originally located by its unfamiliar poo-ooo call...
extinct Mauritius scopsowl (Otus sauzieri), also known as Mauritius owl, Mauritius lizard owl, Commerson's owl, Sauzier's owl, or Newton's owl, was endemic...
For most of the 20th century, this genus was merged with the Old World scopsowls in Otus, but nowadays it is again considered separately based on a range...
The Sokoke scopsowl (Otus ireneae) is a highly localized species of scopsowl found in lowland forests of Kenya and Tanzania. The greatest population...
the striated scops owl. The pallid scopsowl is a small-eared owl similar in appearance to the Eurasian scopsowl but with more distinct streaks on the...
Rodrigues scopsowl (Otus murivorus), also known as Rodrigues owl, Rodrigues lizard owl, Leguat's owl, or (somewhat misleadingly) Rodrigues little owl, was...
The Luzon scopsowl (Otus longicornis) or the Luzon highland scopsowl is a species of scopsowl endemic to Luzon, Philippines. Not to be confused with...
The mountain scopsowl (Otus spilocephalus), sometimes referred to as the spotted scopsowl, is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is locally...
The Principe scopsowl (Otus bikegila) is a species of scopsowl found only on Príncipe Island of São Tomé and Príncipe, an island country in the Gulf...
The Flores scopsowl (Otus alfredi) is an owl endemic to the island of Flores, Indonesia. It is threatened by habitat loss. This owl is around 19–21 cm...
The Cyprus scopsowl (Otus cyprius) is a small owl endemic to Cyprus. It is similar to the Eurasian scopsowl Otus scops, with which it was once considered...
The Anjouan scopsowl (Otus capnodes) is an owl endemic to the island of Anjouan in the Comoro Islands. The Anjouan scopsowl occurs in grey and rufous...
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