The Indian scops owl (''Otus bakkamoena'') is a species of owl native to

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

Taxonomy and etymology

This species formerly included the collared scops owl (''Otus lettia''). The species epithet is derived from "bakamuna", the Sinhalese name for the white barn owl ''(Tyto alba)'', and the brown fish owl ''(Ketupa zeylonensis)''.

Description

The Indian scops owl is a small owl, although it is one of the largest of the scops owls. Like other scops owls, it has small head tufts, or ''ears''. The upperparts are grey or brown, depending on the morph, with faint buff spotting. The underparts are buff with fine darker streaking. The facial disc is whitish or buff, and the eyes are orange or brown. There is a buff neckband. Sexes are similar. The flight is deeply undulating. This species is very similar to the slightly larger partially migratory collared scops owl (''Otus lettia'') and the oriental scops owl (''Otus sunia''). They can be separated on call and eye colour.

Distribution and habitat

The species occurs from eastern

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

through the

Indian Subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

, except the far north.

Ecology

The Indian scops owl is

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 ...

. Through its natural

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...

, it is very difficult to see in daytime, but may sometimes be located by the small birds that mob it while it is roosting in a tree. It feeds mainly on

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. The call is a soft single note (''"whuk?"''). It nests in tree holes, laying 3–5 eggs.

References

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q795515 Indian scops owl Birds of South Asia Indian scops owl Indian scops owl Taxa named by Thomas Pennant