Eurasian Scops Owl

How to identify

Field marks

1. Gray-brown to rufous, resembling bark overall
2. Ear-coverts very short, usually almost invisible
3. Adult of nominate subspecies has yellow irises and a gray or blue-black bill
4. A row of whitish spots on the scapulars

Male, female and young

Female about 15–25 g heavier than male; immature almost identical to adult, but with shorter ear tufts and less conspicuous white patches on the back.

Voice

A low, short whistle, “pew”, “chew” or “kiup”, repeated every 2–3 seconds for several minutes to several hours.

Similar species

Little Owl

Compared with Little Owl, this species has a smaller head, a dark inverted triangle between the eyes, ear tufts, a slightly longer tail and straighter flight.

Where and when it's recorded

Eurasian Scops Owl has been recorded at 361 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 54 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

1. Private estate near Green MubazzarahUnited Arab Emirates1,276 records
2. Antikythira Bird ObservatoryGreece431 records
3. Aras Kuş Halkalama İstasyonuTürkiye329 records

Countries and regions with the most records

United Arab EmiratesSpainGreeceTürkiyeIsraelSloveniaFranceBulgaria

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The Eurasian scops owl (Otus scops), also known as the European scops owl, common scops owl or just scops owl, is a small owl in the typical owl family Strigidae. Its breeding range extends from southern Europe eastwards to southern Siberia and the western Himalayas. It is migratory, wintering in Africa south of the Sahara, although it is resident year-round in parts of Mediterranean Europe.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

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