Scops Owl – Otus scops
Scops Owl – Otus scops is to be found in the shouthern halp of europe, with the northernmost point of its range to be St. Petersburg.
As usual, as Scops Owl – Otus scops is not very common, there are only few information avaiable about this owl. Here is one of the good information that I get from wikipidia:
European Scops Owl
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?European Scops Owl
Conservation status: Least concern
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Â Â Â Animalia
Phylum: Â Â Â Chordata
Class: Â Â Â Aves
Order: Â Â Â Strigiformes
Family: Â Â Â Strigidae
Genus: Â Â Â Otus
Species: Â Â Â O. scops
Binomial name
Otus scops
(Linnaeus, 1758)
The European Scops Owl (Otus scops), also known as the Eurasian Scops Owl or just Scops Owl, is a small owl. This species is a part of the larger grouping of owls known as typical owls, Strigidae, which contains most species of owl. The other grouping is the barn owls, Tytonidae.
This bird breeds in southern Europe eastwards into western and central Asia. It is migratory, wintering in southernmost Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. It is rare any distance north of its breeding range, usually occurring as a spring overshoot. It is unlikely that this nocturnal owl would be found outside the breeding season when it is not calling.
It breeds in open woodland, parks and gardens. It lays 3-6 eggs in a tree hole. This is a small owl, and at 19-21 cm length and a 47-54 cm wingspan is not as large as the Little Owl. It takes small prey such as insects and other invertebrates. It is largely nocturnal.
The Scops Owl perches upright and shows small ear tufts. It is predominantly grey-brown in colour, with paler face, underparts and shoulder line. This species has a strong direct flight on long narrow wings, reflecting its migratory habits.
The call is a deep whistle given by both sexes. It is similar to the call of the Midwife Toad.
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Here is also a good information about Scops Owl – Otus scops. I get the information from the hawk conservation trust (http://www.hawk-conservancy.org/priors/scops.shtml)
Common Scops Owl – Otus scops
Range
The Common Scops Owl is essentially a bird of north-western Africa and southern Europe.
There have been occasional visitors to southern England, but no substantiated reports for some considerable time.
Diet
The Common Scops Owl is basically insectivorous.
It does, however, at times take small mammals – mice, voles etc., and small birds. It is also claimed to take occasional small lizards.
Voice
The call of the Common Scops Owl is described as the plaintive note of a flute. It is a very common sound in the still nights of southern Europe.
The bird can be an ornithologists nightmare, as its call is practically indistinguishable from that of the Midwife Toad!
Status and behaviour in the wild
The Common Scops Owl is, in common with others of its type, a resident of lightly wooded areas.
Its preference is for areas which will give a July temperature of not less than 22 degrees Celcius (72 degrees Fahrenheit). In these areas it is often to be seen at night in the vicinity of light (lamp-posts etc) chasing its favoured food of large moths.
In these areas, its repeated single note call (which is reputed to out-noise the Cicada!) is a feature of the night air.
Over much of its range, the Common Scops Owl is migratory. Its migration paths take it over Malta and Italy, where there is an annual, almost ritual slaughter of many birds of prey.
The little Common Scops Owl is one of the species targetted at this time and, at times, it acquires in southern Europe the status of a game bird.