The Madagascar scops owl (''Otus rutilus''), also known as the Malagasy scops owl or rainforest scops owl, is a species of

owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...

in the 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 ...

. It is found throughout

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

, now that it has recently been lumped with the Torotoroka scops owl (''O. r. madagascariensis''), with which it was long considered a separate species from. The nominate ''O. r. rutilus'' is referred to as the rainforest scops owl.

Description

The Madagascar scops owl is a relatively small owl with short, rounded wings and short erectile ear-tufts on top of the head. There are three morphs recorded of this species: a grey morph, a brown morph and a rufous morph. Features which stand out from the main plumage color are the pale eyebrows, light spots on the scapulars and the barring on the wings and outer tail feathers. Sometimes the crown and the underparts are streaked. The bill has a black tip and may be dull green through to yellowish-grey and the eyes are yellow. They measure in length and have a wingspan of .

Voice

The typical song of the Madagascar scops owl is a series of between five and nine short, reverberating, clear hoots which can be rendered as "pu-pu-pu-pu-pu". These are repeated at intervals of several seconds.

Distribution and habitat

The Madagascar scops owl is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to Madagascar where it is found throughout the island. As its common name "rainforest" suggests, the nominate subspecies ''O. r. rutilus'' prefer humid tropical forest and bush and occurs in the east of the island, whereas the Torotoroka subspecies ''O. r. madagascariensis'' prefers drier habitats and occurs in the west of the island.

Behaviour

The Madagascar scops owl feeds on invertebrates, such as grasshoppers, beetles, moths and spiders, as well as taking small vertebrates. It hunts mostly at night from a perch but will also catch moths on the wing. It roosts during the day, hidden in dense foliage, on a branch or next to the tree trunk. Little is known about the breeding biology of this species. The nest is in a

tree hollow A tree hollow or tree hole is a semi-enclosed cavity which has naturally formed in the trunk or branch of a tree. They are found mainly in old trees, whether living or not. Hollows form in many species of trees. They are a prominent feature of n ...

and 3 or 4 white eggs are laid, probably in November and December.

Taxonomy

The rainforest scops owl, the Mayotte scops owl (''O. mayottensis''), the Pemba scops owl (''O. pembaensis'') and the Torotoroka scops owl (''O. madagascarensis'') have all previously been lumped as one species. The taxonomy is in a state of flux but recent genetic studies have placed the Pemba scops owl closer to the clade containing the

African scops owl The African scops owl (''Otus senegalensis'') is a small owl which is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa. Taxonomy William Swainson first described the species in 1837 from a specimen collected in Senegal, and initially assigned it to the now d ...

(''O. sengalensis''), while the Mayotte scops owl is clearly separate from the remaining two. The status of the rainforest is debatable as there is very little genetic distance between the two taxa and subsequent studies have suggested that the plumage differences between ''O. rutilus'' and ''O. madagascariensis'' are small and that their voices intergrade. Therefore the rainforest and Torotoroka scops owls become subspecies under the new name Madagascar scops owl, taking the scientific name ''Otus rutilus.''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q238954 rainforest scops owl Endemic birds of Madagascar rainforest scops owl rainforest scops owl rainforest scops owl Taxonomy articles created by Polbot