Pallid Scops-Owl
Otus brucei
Small, pale gray owl with distinct tufted “horns.” Well camouflaged and rarely seen during the day, when it roosts in groves of trees in relatively open areas such as plantations, oases, and farmland. Similar to European Scops-Owl but with less extensive and simpler patterning: discrete thin black streaks on the back and breast instead of an assortment of blotchy patches and spots. Pallid’s voice is deeper than that of the rather squeaky European Scops.
Identification
The pallid scops owl is a small-eared owl similar in appearance to the Eurasian scops owl but with more distinct streaks on the back and less intricate markings.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Otus brucei
- Authority
- (Hume, 1872)
- Order
- Strigiformes
- Family
- Strigidae
- Genus
- Otus
Range and habitat
The pallid scops owl ranges from the Middle East to west and central Asia, with some populations migrating as far as the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt, and Pakistan in the winter. It inhabits semi-open country with trees and bushes and has an estimated range of 6,190,000 km2 (2,390,000 sq mi) during the breeding season and 3,560,000 km2 (1,370,000 sq mi) in the nonbreeding season.<p>in 2015, a new population of over 400 pairs was found in the Rift Valley, Israel and in 2016 more pairs and nests were found in Jordan (east to the Jordan River), all nesting in palm plantations.<p>There have been many records from the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan in India, and a single record of this species from paddyfields in the southern state of Kerala.
- Breeding range
- PAL : sw, c
- Non-breeding range
- nw India
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
Primarily an insectivore, the pallid scops owl's diet includes insects, lizards, spiders, and small mammals. It occasionally hunts during the day, and has been known to take bats and insects on the wing.<p>Breeding takes place any time between April and June, where 4 to 6 eggs are laid in a tree cavity, such as a woodpecker hole. Incubation takes approximately 27 days, and the juveniles are fledged at 30 days.<p>The pallid scops owl's call is a series of low, hollow, dove-like notes.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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