Mountain Scops Owl - BirdForum Opus

Alternative name: Spotted Scops-Owl

Photo by Dave B
Fraser's Hill, Malaysia, June 2009

Otus spilocephalus

Identification

18cm

• Dark brown upperparts
• Pale collar
• Pale buff facial disc
• Long brown and buff ear tufts
• Buff-streaked breast
• Yellow iris
• Grey feet
• Whitish-buff bill

Distribution

Asia: found in China, Tibet, Nepal, Pakistan, India, Eastern and Western Himalayas, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Taiwan
Southeast Asia: Indochina, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Malay Peninsula, Island of Borneo, Indonesia, Greater Sundas and Sumatra.

Taxonomy

Subspecies

There are 8 subspecies^[1]:

• O. s. huttoni:

• Western Himalayas (northern Pakistan to central Nepal)

• O. s. spilocephalus:

• Himalayas (central Nepal to Arunachal Pradesh and Myanmar)

• O. s. latouchi:

• Northern Thailand and Laos to south-eastern China and Hainan

• O. s. hambroecki:

• Taiwan

• O. s. siamensis:

• Mountains of southern Thailand to southern Vietnam

• O. s. vulpes:

• Mountains of Malay Peninsula

• O. s. vandewateri:

• Mountains of Sumatra

• O. s. luciae:

• Mountains of Borneo

An additional subspecies rupchandi is generally considered invalid^[2].

Habitat

Mountains and evergreen forests.

Behaviour

Nocturnal.

Diet

Their diet includes moths, beetles, cicadas, rodents and small birds.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2010. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2010. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/Clements%206.5.xls/view
2. Avibase
3. Birding in Taiwan

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Mountain Scops Owl. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 17 January 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Mountain_Scops_Owl

External Links

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