- Otus sunia
Identification
18–21 cm (7-8¼ in)
Two colour morphs: grey-brown and rufous
Distribution
Asia: Russia, Siberia, Mongolia, China, Nepal, Pakistan, India, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Eastern and Western Himalayas, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan
Southeast Asia: Indochina, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Malay Peninsula, Singapore, Borneo, Indonesia, Greater Sundas, Sumatra
Accidental vagrant to the Aleutians in Alaska (1 record).
Taxonomy
Subspecies
There are 9 subspecies[1]:
- O. s. sunia:
- Northern Pakistan to Bangladesh and northern India
- O. s. rufipennis:
- Southern India
- O. s. leggei:
- O. s. nicobaricus:
- O. s. japonicus:
- Breeds Japan, at least partially migratory, but winter range not well documented
- O. s. stictonotus:
- O. s. malayanus:
- Southern China (Yunnan to eastern Guangdong); at least partially migratory, wintering to the southern Malay Peninsula and perhaps to northern Sumatra
- O. s. distans:
- northern and eastern Thailand and Indochina
- O. s. modestus:
- Assam to Myanmar, Thailand, Indochina; Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Habitat
Dry deciduous forests, with a preference for the edges and glades of open woodland.
Behaviour
Diet
Their main diet consists of insects and spiders. They also eat rodents and small birds.
Breeding
Their nest is a hollow in a tree trunk.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Avibase
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved January 2017)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Oriental Scops Owl. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 5 February 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Oriental_Scops_Owl
External Links
