The Sunda scops owl (''Otus lempiji'') is a small brown

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 ...

native to the

Sunda Islands The Sunda Islands ( id, Kepulauan Sunda) are a group of islands in the Malay Archipelago.Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Sunda Islands" . ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 26 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. They consist of the Greater Sun ...

Taxonomy

The

taxon In biology, a taxon ( back-formation from '' taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular n ...

is considered a subspecies of ''

Otus bakkamoena The Indian scops owl (''Otus bakkamoena'') is a resident species of owl native to South Asia. Taxonomy and etymology This species formerly included the collared scops owl (''Otus lettia''). The species epithet is derived from "bakamuna", the S ...

'' by some authors.

Description

It grows from and can weigh . It is speckled with black on the upper parts and streaked with black on the lower parts. It has a light collar and dark eyes, which differentiate it from the reddish scops, mountain scops, Oriental scops and Rajah scops owls.

Distribution and habitat

It lives on the

Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula ( Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The are ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java Isl ...

, Sumatra and

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mo ...

. It can be found primarily in forests and gardens but is occasionally attracted to buildings.

Diet

The diet of the Sunda scops owl mainly consists of insects, as well as small animals such as geckos and lizards.

Conservation

It has been included in the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

of threatened species as a

least concern species A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. Th ...

. It is common throughout its range where there is suitable habitat.

Behaviour

Breeding

The Sunda scops owl lines its nest with plant fibre. It will lay up to three eggs 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, and are a prominent feature of nat ...

from January to April and their breeding season can sometimes be extended to June or late July. The Sunda scops owl tends to behave aggressively when threatened by other owls by displaying territorial behavior. A female Sunda scops owl will react aggressively when feeling threatened by responding vocally to warn intruders from interfering and keeping them at a distance.

Voice

Its call is a hooting yelp in between a longer period of silence. The Sunda Scops owls use their callings to mark their territory and have evolved to have voice individuality to improve their territory proclamation. Every owl has its own unique vocal characteristics such as varying frequencies at which they produce their callings/noises which gives them each a unique voice. Having a unique voice/calling makes it easier for an owl to stand out from its competitors and mark its territory more effectively.

Gallery

File:Rajah Scops-Owl (Otus brookii) juvenile.jpg, none, From Gunung Gede,

West Java West Java ( id, Jawa Barat, su, ᮏᮝ ᮊᮥᮜᮧᮔ᮪, romanized ''Jawa Kulon'') is a province of Indonesia on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Bante ...

. File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Een Maleise dwerg-ooruil (Otus bakkamoena lempiji) met twee jongen Dampar Oost-Java TMnr 10006595.jpg, none, Historic (c. 1938) image of an adult with two young, Dampar,

East Java East Java ( id, Jawa Timur) is a province of Indonesia located in the easternmost hemisphere of Java island. It has a land border only with the province of Central Java to the west; the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean border its northern and so ...