What is a Scops Owl?

[Andrew]

There are various Owls mentioned as 'Scops Owl', what exactly defines a Scops Owl from a 'normal' Owl?

[Tim Allwood]

Andrew

you will need a qualified taxonomist to get a complete and thorough answer to this question

[cuckooroller]

Andrew,

An interesting question. I imagine a museum curator could give a more exhaustive response as to what morphologically constitutes any "normal" owl, and I read your "normal" as being "typical" owl (sensu strictu). I think the original generic name Otus, in which all of the so-called Scops-owls, or those in the New World, called Screech-owls were originally placed was, and to some extent, still is a catch-all grouping not originally defined by strict morphological features other than that of that derived from the Greek: Scops = the little horned owl. In light of recent mtDNA hybridization analyses some of these "typical" owls (i.e. in Strigidae) are being redefined and put into other genera. To wit, the recent redefinition of the former (African) White-faced Scops-Owl being renamed in the common name and being placed in a new genus (by some) - Ptilopsis. The so-called New World Screech-owls, once in Otus, have been recollocated, based more on their distribution, than on any real morphological bases and placed in new genus Megascops, at least on the SM and Clement's classification. Others formerly in Otus have been differentiated and placed in other genera previously, such as Pyrroglaux and Gymnoglaux. So, all in all, the original collocation of all these owls in genus Otus, was by convention, and they are now all being re-examined.

Don't know if this helps or not.

[Tim Allwood]

Nice one Steve

it does help...only if to show that Scops Owl is only now really a loose grouping under the English name and not a true reflection of evolutionary similarites

[Suricate]

There are various Owls mentioned as 'Scops Owl', what exactly defines a Scops Owl from a 'normal' Owl?

Hi Andrew,
The Scops Owl comes under the family Strigidae and from the genus otus. There are 41 species of Scops Owls and the genus Otus with the exception of Australia is represented worldwide.
The largest of these is Otus saittatus White-fronted Scops Owl.
The taxonomic relationships amongst the Otus genus has yet to be fully worked out and understood.
Suricate

[Andrew]

And here's me thinking it was how their eyes operated. I seem to think I have read somewhere it was the structure of the eyes and the position of them. Must be wrong.

[Andrew S]

I think some of this analysis is overly complicated. Scops Owls are the ones that keep you awake in your hotel room thinking "When is that lorry going to stop reversing?".

[Tim Allwood]

The analysis is on the simplified side and is much more complicated than indicated at......

all 'Scops Owls' are indeed in Otus but Otus also includes 'Screech Owls' - the New World equivalent. Scops Owls really include Screech Owls too....at the moment

the taxonomy of the 'Scops' is very complicated with different colour morphs etc clouding the issue and there may be several incipient species esp on some Asian islands.....

For example the Scops Owls at Cibodas in Java are Javan Scops Owls (O. angelinae) but no-one really knows what they call like and I never saw one despite a lot of hard searching over the months. Their habits are making them difficult to study.......

OOPs sorry Steve, I covered a bit of the same ground as you did earlier!

[Andrew]

Isn't there a defined structural 'template' to allow the recognition of a 'Scops Owl'. What I mean is we can recognise a large Thrush or a Flycatcher and so on...

[cuckooroller]

The analysis is on the simplified side and is much more complicated than indicated at......

all 'Scops Owls' are indeed in Otus but Otus also includes 'Screech Owls' - the New World equivalent. Scops Owls really include Screech Owls too....at the moment

the taxonomy of the 'Scops' is very complicated with different colour morphs etc clouding the issue and there may be several incipient species esp on some Asian islands.....

For example the Scops Owls at Cibodas in Java are Javan Scops Owls (O. angelinae) but no-one really knows what they call like and I never saw one despite a lot of hard searching over the months. Their habits are making them difficult to study.......

OOPs sorry Steve, I covered a bit of the same ground as you did earlier!

Tim,

There's room here for everybody and that's for sure. Southeast Asian Otus is already screwed up enough. I can't wait until somebody finally gets around to trying to figuring out Ninox, and though not in Strigidae, the Batrachostomidae. Ninox, in particular, is a big mess!!

:h?:

[Bluetail]

all 'Scops Owls' are indeed in Otus but Otus also includes 'Screech Owls' - the New World equivalent. Scops Owls really include Screech Owls too....at the momentBut how different are the "screech owls"? That's not a rhetorical question - it's something I've often wondered. I only know them from photos and field guides, but the impression I get is that they look damned similar to European Scops Owl. In the (admittedly unlikely) event that a Eastern Screech Owl ever hitched a lift over here and stumbled onto the British List, I wonder how many records of Scops Owl would survive the BBRC's ensuing review.

Jason

[Sumit]

Hi,
For all those who want a quick look at the species, just posted a Scops image to the gallery at:
http://www.birdforum.net/pp_gallery/showphoto.php/photo/20362/password//sort/1/cat/all/page/1
Cheers!

Sumit

[Andrew]

Thanks for the link to a good picture. I urge others to look at it, it really is a cracking picture.

[Harry Hussey]

Hi Jason,
But how different are the "screech owls"? That's not a rhetorical question - it's something I've often wondered. I only know them from photos and field guides, but the impression I get is that they look damned similar to European Scops Owl. In the (admittedly unlikely) event that a Eastern Screech Owl ever hitched a lift over here and stumbled onto the British List, I wonder how many records of Scops Owl would survive the BBRC's ensuing review.
While I doubt that a genuine Eastern Screech Owl could make it across the Atlantic,I wonder if perhaps the species may be kept in captivity in Europe?
If so,then the ID implications could be horrific!
On the subject of vagrant Scops Owls,I would hazard a guess that this must be one of the most overlooked vagrants there is,purely by virtue of its strictly nocturnal habits.All of the recent Irish records were of birds found dead or dying,caught in mist nets by chance(the Cape Clear bird in 1999,which was twitchable for 1-2 nights,but most of us couldn't go down midweek and stay overnight.),or heard calling(a 1974 record from Co.Fermanagh was accepted on the basis of an audio tape recording of the call:we have no feral Midwife Toads to worry about!):one wonders how many are actually turning up?
If we get suitable conditions for overshoots this spring,it may be worth keeping a sharp eye out for a roosting bird,or even staying late at a local headland with sufficient tree cover....
Harry

[Andrew]

I need to find a Tawny before I start staying up for Scops Owls!!! 3:-)

[Bluetail]

Hi Harry

You could well be right. How many come here and don't call, or end up in woodland that isn't frequented by birders at dead of night? Amazingly, when I got to tick one it was in broad daylight (Morwenstow '95).

Jason

[steve_nova]

..........are being redefined and put into other genera. To wit, the recent redefinition......

Did anyone else notice this pun? ;)