African Scops Owl
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The African scops owl (''Otus senegalensis'') is a small owl which is widespread in sub-Saharan
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
.


Taxonomy

William Swainson William Swainson Fellow of the Linnean Society, FLS, Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (8 October 1789 – 6 December 1855), was an English ornithologist, Malacology, malacologist, Conchology, conchologist, entomologist and artist. Life Swains ...
first described the species in 1837 from a specimen collected in Senegal, and initially assigned it to the now defunct genus ''Scops''. Today the species is assigned to the genus ''Otus''. There are three subspecies currently recognised: *''Otus senegalensis senegalensis'': Widespread in sub-Saharan Africa *''Otus senegalensis nivosus'': Found in south-eastern Kenya from the lower Tana River to the Lali Hills *''Otus senegalensis feae'': Endemic to Annobón island in the
Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea (French language, French: ''Golfe de Guinée''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Golfo de Guinea''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Golfo da Guiné'') is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez i ...
(regarded by
Birdlife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...
as a separate species, the Annobón scops owl) The African scops owl was formerly regarded as the African
subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...
of the European scops owl. It was grouped with the
Arabian scops owl The Arabian scops owl (''Otus pamelae'') is a small owl endemic to Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi ...
, Socotra scops owl, and the Annobón scops owl into ''Otus senegalensis''; however, these species are now considered to be separate.


Description

The African scops owl is a small owl, measuring in length. It is typically greyish-brown, though sometimes pale rufous or warmer brown, and is cryptically marked with streaks and mottling. Its grey facial disk has a narrow black edge, and its eyes are yellow. It has ear tufts, which are generally kept lowered unless the bird is disturbed. The African scops owl is around in length with a wingspan of .


Voice

The African scops owl gives a monotonous quivering distinctive "prrrp" at five second intervals.


Similar species

The migrant Eurasian scops owl is very similar to the African scops owl; while it is typically slightly larger, it may not be distinguishable in the field.


Range and habitat

The African scops owl is endemic to sub-Saharan Africa. It ranges from sea level to in elevation, and is found in wooded habitats and forest edge, including in gardens and
mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...
s.


Behaviour

The African scops owl is strictly nocturnal. During the day, it perches close to the trunk of a tree. When roosting in daylight, this species closes its eyes and extends its ear-tufts to give the impression of a tree branch, making it easily overlooked. Pairs sometimes roost together. The African scops owl is not as territorial as the Eurasian scops owl and will nest in loose aggregations, with the nest sites relatively close to each other. The male and female may duet, calling all night both before and after leaving the roost site. The African scops owl lays four to six eggs directly onto the floor of a tree hollow, with laying occurring throughout April and June. Incubation lasts about 27 days, during which the female incubates the eggs and is fed by the male. Once the eggs hatch the young are fed by the female with food brought by the male. The young fledge in 30 days. The prey of the African scops owl is mainly insects such as
grasshopper Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are amongst what are possibly the most ancient living groups of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grassh ...
s,
beetle Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...
s,
cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
s,
moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...
s etc. but also
spider Spiders (order (biology), order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude spider silk, silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and ran ...
s,
scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...
s and small
vertebrate Vertebrates () are animals with a vertebral column (backbone or spine), and a cranium, or skull. The vertebral column surrounds and protects the spinal cord, while the cranium protects the brain. The vertebrates make up the subphylum Vertebra ...
s. They normally hunt by scanning or listening from a perch and swooping down to capture prey on the ground, but will hawk for flying insects.


References


External links

* African Scops Owl
Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds

African Scops-Owl (Otus senegalensis)
videos and photos at Internet Bird Collection {{Taxonbar, from=Q1270188 African scops owl Birds of Africa Owls of Sub-Saharan Africa Birds of Southern Africa African scope owl Taxa named by William Swainson