African Scops-Owl Otus senegalensis Scientific name definitions

African Scops-Owl is the most widespread species of Otus in Africa. It occupies wooded savannahs, semi-open woodland, and gardens across most of the continent south of the Sahara, but it is absent from the denser, more humid forests of the Congo Basin, and from the deserts of southwestern Africa. It is very similar in appearance to Eurasian Scops-Owl (Otus scops), which winters across the northern portion of the range of the African species, and the two were once considered to be conspecific. However, the songs of the two species are different, although Eurasian generally is silent during its non-breeding season in Africa; the two species also differ in wing formula, in size, and in plumage, but there is overlap in most characters, and silent birds may not be identifiable in the field. African Scops-Owl is easily distinguished from the two species of white-faced owls (Ptilopis) by its smaller size, gray (not white) facial disks, much narrower black borders to the latter, and shorter ear-tufts. In terms of its natural history, African Scops-Owl is typical of the genus, feeding on large arthropods and the occasional small vertebrate, and nesting in a tree cavity.