Sandy Scops-Owl
Otus icterorhynchus
Small owl of west and central African rainforest. Note the white slash on the shoulder, the small ear tufts, and the pale spots on the underparts. The overall color varies from brown in the western part of the range to cinnamon in the east. Local and scarce in lowland rainforest. Usually detected by its vocalization, a long descending whistle, repeated with pauses of several seconds. Fairly similar in appearance to African Scops-Owl, but is brown or rufous rather than gray, has spotted rather than striped underparts, and is found in different habitat.
Identification
A small owl which has an overall pale rufous colour, a plain face, a pale yellow bill and yellow eyes. The pale stripe along the shoulders is quite obvious. The adults are pale rufous brown, finely spotted with white and barred with buff. The underparts are paler and more rufous with buff bars and white spots on the belly and vent. The tail, flight feathers and greater upperwing coverts are rufous barred with black. Length is about 15 cm (5.9 in), and wingspan is 45 cm (18 in).<p>The sound is a long whistling "twooo" which descends in pitch.
Taxonomy
The sandy scops owl is thought to be basal in the lineage of the genus Otus, along with the Sokoke scops owl (Otus ireneae), but there has been no genetic material for testing from the sandy scops owl. In addition, some authorities consider that the subspecies of sandy scops owl should be treated as two different species.
- Scientific name
- Otus icterorhynchus
- Authority
- (Shelley, 1873)
- Order
- Strigiformes
- Family
- Strigidae
- Genus
- Otus
Range and habitat
The sandy scops owl has a scattered distribution across the African tropical rainforest ; it has been recorded from Guinea, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo and Central African Republic.<p>The sandy scops owl occurs in lowland evergreen forest, open canopy forest and scrub, or in open forest mosaic land.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The sandy scops owl is rarely seen and little is known about its habits. It is probably crepuscular and insectivorous feeding largely on grasshoppers and crickets. The breeding season is probably during February and March.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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