Oriental scops owl
| Oriental scops owl | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom Information | |
| Domain | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Subkingdom | Bilateria |
| Branch | Deuterostomia |
| Phylum Information | |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Sub-phylum | Vertebrata |
| Infraphylum | Gnathostomata |
| Class Information | |
| Superclass | Tetrapoda |
| Class | Aves |
| Sub-class | Neornithes |
| Infra-class | Neoaves |
| Order Information | |
| Order | Strigiformes |
| Family Information | |
| Family | Strigidae |
| Sub-family | Striginae |
| Genus Information | |
| Genus | Otus |
| Species Information | |
| Species | O. sunia |
| Population statistics | |
| Population | 100,000+ (2016 est.) |
| Conservation status | Least concern[1] |
The Oriental scops owl (Otus sunia) is a species of owl of the family Strigidae, and found in eastern Asia, from India to Siberia.
Description
The Oriental scops owl has a body length of 7-8 inches, a wingspan of 19-20 inches, and a weight of 2.6–3.3 ounces; females are slightly larger than males. Adults birds are one of two color morphs, either gray or rufus, with a third morph - golden - being quite uncommon. The head and trunk of the bird have a solid background, on which small transverse and large longitudinal mottling appears. The abdominal side of the bird is lighter, with more mottling on it. The spotted back is blurry, not prominent. The front disk of the scoop is light gray, with thin transverse stripes. On the sides of the disk, a narrow strip of darker feathers can be observed, which in an anxious individual bristled up and form "ears" 15-25 mm high; usually, the ears lay flat against the head. Legs are feathered to the bare toes, which are light gray in color, with dark brown claws. The eyes are yellow, the beak is dark brown in color and almost completely hidden by feathers growing from its base.
Oriental scops owls uses a wide range of vocal signals. Chicks in the nest emit a faint squeak, while those who left the nest make a hiss that can be heard quite far away. In frightened birds, hissing becomes intermittent, mixed with a clicking of the beak. During the August molt the hiss turns into a drawn whistle, which is subsequently reduced to the initial and final screaming. Young owls in a quiet state emit a quiet whistle, sounding like "ooook-oooe". Anxious whistling turns into a similarity of the purr, "u-rr-rr-r", and the frightened make into a sharp cry of "aaou." In the spring and summer, adult males utter a mating cry "ut-that-that, ut-that-that" up to 30 times per minute; other researchers recorded the mating song as a double syllable "ke — vuyu, ke — vuyu"[2]. If a male has competitors, the tone of his song may vary. Females during this period emit a squeal in response. Oriental scops owls stop screaming in the period before the start of the flight; during the flight, they are virtually silent.
Subspecies
- Otus sunia distans; northern and eastern Thailand and Indochina
- Otus sunia japonicus; Japan; winter range largely unknown
- Otus sunia leggei; Sri Lanka
- Otus sunia malayanus; southern China (Yunnan to eastern Guangdong); winters to southern Malay Peninsula, northern Sumatra
- Otus sunia modestus; Assam to Myanmar, Thailand, Indochina; Andaman and Nicobar islands
- Otus sunia nicobaricus; Nicobar Islands
- Otus sunia rufipennis; southern India
- Otus sunia stictonotus; southeastern Siberia to northeastern China, Sakhalin Island, and northern Korea; winters southeastern China south to southern Thailand; occasional vagrant to Alaska[3]
- Otus sunia sunia; northern Pakistan to northern India and Bangladesh[4]
Habits
Oriental scops owls are exclusively night birds, with the main part of activity occurring at dusk and dawn. During the day they sleep in sheltered crevices, in bushes or in trees, or very rarely on the ground. Only during the breeding season are they active during the day; during this period, males can utter a mating call at any time of the day. Its prey consists of large insects, spiders and small mammals and birds, which are taken in its preferred areas of forest edges and open fields.
Reproduction
Oriental scops owls reach sexual maturity during the first year of life, and at the end of the first year they mate. Males select suitable places for nesting, generally at the beginning of May, and begin to vocally attract a mate. Within a few days, the females fly in and pair-bonding begins. The period of the greatest mating activity of males is in May and mid-June, decreasing by the middle of July. Each pair occupies an area from 100 to 300 yards radius from the nest.
The owls nest in hollows of trees, equally preferring both natural hollows and those hollowed out by woodpeckers; they have also been known to nest in birdhouses and in the grooves of buildings. They do not specialize in any particular tree species, but the size of the hollow is important for them, which is located from 6 to 60 feet, bears a width of between 20 and 30 cm, and has interior depth of the depth is 13-19 cm. The female lays one egg every day in the evening, ultimately laying a clutch of 3 to 6 eggs. Oriental scops owls lay eggs which have an ellipsoidal shape, glossy white in color.
Oriental scops owls lay, as a rule, one clutch per season, but if the clutch dies at the beginning of hatching the female may postpone a new clutch. Only the female sits on the eggs, and the male provides the food. The average duration of incubation is 19-20 days. Chicks hatch within 4-5 days, and are completely independent of the nest within three months.
Threats
Like many owls, the Oriental scops owl benefits from man due to abundance of human construction as available nesting and hunting sites; man in turn benefits from the owls engaging in pest control which would otherwise harm agricultural crops. However, the clearing of forests for farming has disrupted the bird's habitat in many areas; concurrent with the farming is the spread of pesticides and flame-retardants that has poisoned a number of birds. China has also engaged in an illicit trade combined with hunting. Despite this, the ICUN has cited the overall population as stable within a very large range, and classified it as "least concern"[5].
