| Ryūkyū Scops Owl | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Strigiformes |
| Family: | Strigidae |
| Genus: | Otus |
| Species: | O. elegans |
| Binomial name | |
| Otus elegans (Cassin, 1852) |
|
The Ryūkyū Scops-owl or Elegant Scops-owl (Otus elegans) is a small rufous-brown owl with a brown face disk and a cinnamon facial ruff. The bill is olive-grey and it has yellow eyes.
It is found on the Nansei Shoto islands, southern Japan, on Lanyu Island, off south-east Taiwan, and on the Batanes and Babuyan islands off northern Luzon, Philippines in semi-tropical evergreen forest. It is becoming rare due to habitat loss.