The Eurasian scops owl (''Otus scops''), also known as the European scops owl, common scops owl or just scops owl, is a small owl in the typical owl family

Strigidae The true owls or typical owls (family (biology), family Strigidae) are one of the two generally accepted families of owls, the other being the barn owls and bay owls (Tytonidae). This large family comprises 230 living or recently extinct species ...

. Its breeding range extends from southern Europe eastwards to southern Siberia and the western Himalayas. It is migratory, wintering in Africa south of the Sahara.

Taxonomy

The Eurasian scops owl was formally described by Swedish naturalist

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''

Systema Naturae ' (originally in Latin written ' with the Orthographic ligature, ligature æ) is one of the major works of the Sweden, Swedish botanist, zoologist and physician Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) and introduced the Linnaean taxonomy. Although the syste ...

''. Linnaeus cited the 1599 description by the Italian naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi, placed it with all the other owls in the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

'' Strix'' and coined the binomial name ''Strix scops''. The Eurasian scops owl is now placed in the genus '' Otus'' that was introduced in 1769 by Welsh naturalist

Thomas Pennant Thomas Pennant (16 December 1798) was a Welsh natural history, naturalist, traveller, writer and antiquarian. He was born and lived his whole life at his family estate, Downing Hall, near Whitford, Flintshire, in Wales. As a naturalist he had ...

. The genus name is derived from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

' meaning "eared owl". The specific epithet ''scops'' is from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

word ''skōps'' for a little eared owl. The term is believed to be of Pre-Greek origin;

folk etymology Folk etymology – also known as (generative) popular etymology, analogical reformation, (morphological) reanalysis and etymological reinterpretation – is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a mo ...

links it to σκώπτω (''skṓptō'', "to mock") or σκέπτομαι (''sképtomai'', "to examine"). Five

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 ...

are recognised: * ''O. s. scops'' (

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

, 1758) – France and Italy to the Caucasus area * ''O. s. mallorcae'' von Jordans, 1923 – Iberian Peninsula, Balearic Islands and northwest Africa * ''O. s. cycladum'' ( Tschusi, 1904) – southern Greece and Crete to southern Turkey, Syria and Jordan * ''O. s. turanicus'' ( Loudon, 1905) – Iraq to northwest Pakistan * ''O. s. pulchellus'' ( Pallas, 1771) – Kazakhstan to southern Siberia and western Himalayas

Description

The Eurasian scops owl is in length with a wingspan of . This is somewhat smaller than the little owl (''Athene noctua''). It perches upright and shows small ear-tufts. The plumage is predominantly grey-brown in colour, with a paler face, underparts and shoulder line. This species has a strong direct flight on long narrow wings, reflecting its migratory habits. The call is a deep whistle given by both sexes. It is similar to the call of midwife toads in the genus '' Alytes''.

Distribution and habitat

This bird breeds in southern Europe eastwards into western and central Asia. It is migratory, wintering in southernmost Europe and sub-

Sahara The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...

n Africa. It was spotted in Newtown area near

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

for a brief period during October 2021. It was the first sighting in eastern

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It is rare any distance north of its breeding range, usually occurring as a spring overshoot. It is unlikely that this nocturnal owl would be found outside the breeding season when it is not calling.

Behaviour

Breeding

Eurasian scops owls breed in open woodland, parks and gardens. The nest is usually a hole in a tree or in a wall, but can sometimes be an old nest of another species such as a crow. The clutch is usually 4 or 5 eggs. These are white and measure and weigh around . The eggs are incubated only by the female. They hatch after 24-25 days. The young are cared for and fed by both parents. They fledge when aged 21–29 days and become independent of their parents at 30–40 days of age.

Diet

It takes small prey such as

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

s and other invertebrates. It is largely

nocturnal Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatur ...

References

Sources

External links

* * {{Authority control Otus (bird) Birds of Eurasia Birds described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus