Collared Scops Owl
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 Grey morph of Collared Scops owl
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| Otus bakkamoena Pennant, 1769 |
The Collared Scops Owl, Otus bakkamoena, is an owl which is a resident breeder in south Asia from eastern Arabia through India, except the far north, and Sri Lanka east to Indonesia. This species is a part of the larger grouping of owls known as typical owls, Strigidae, which contains most species of owl. The other grouping is the barn owls, Tytonidae.
The Collared Scops Owl is a common resident bird in forests and other well-wooded areas. It nests in a hole in a tree, laying 3-5 eggs.
The Collared Scops Owl is a small (23-25cm) owl, although it is 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 nocturnal. Through its natural camouflage, it is very difficult to see in daytime. But it can often be located by the small birds that mob it while it is roosting in a tree. It feeds mainly on insects. The call is a soft single note whuk?.
This species is very similar to the slightly larger partially migratory Indian Scops Owl Otus lettia and the Oriental Scops Owl Otus sunia. They can be separated on call and eye colour.
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (2004). Otus bakkamoena. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
- Birds of India by Grimmett, Inskipp and Inskipp, ISBN 0-691-04910-6
- Owls of the Northern Hemisphere, Karel Voous, ISBN 0-00-219493-7
