Ryukyu Scops Owl

Otus elegans (Cassin, 1852)

≈26 cmLength60 cmWingspan124 gWeight

This small, reddish-brown owl has yellow eyes and an olive-gray bill.

Busiest months: May · Most records: Japan, Philippines

Near Threatened

How to identify

Field marks

Small, reddish-brown owl
Facial disc brown, facial ruff cinnamon
Eyes yellow
Bill olive-gray

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: May · Most records: Japan, Philippines

Ryukyu Scops Owl has been recorded at 4 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 2 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Amami – Tatsugo – Amami Nature ForestJapan83 records
Basco Airport, BatanPhilippines7 records
Basco Dump near Song Song Beach, BatanPhilippines4 records

More places

Kin – Kin rice paddiesJapan1 record

Countries and regions with the most records

Japan Philippines

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 Ryukyu scops owl (Ryūkyū scops owl) or elegant scops owl (Otus elegans) is a small rufous-brown owl with a brown face disk and a cinnamon facial ruff. The bill is olive-grey and it has yellow eyes.

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

Questions

How big is the Ryukyu Scops Owl?

The Ryukyu Scops Owl is about ≈26 cm long, with a wingspan of 60 cm and weighs around 124 g.

Where does the Ryukyu Scops Owl live?

Its breeding range: Oriental: Ryukyu Islands, Daito Islands, and Okinoshima, off southern Kyushu (southern Japan) and Taiwan (China) to far northern Philippines. It is most often recorded in Japan and Philippines.