Oriental Scops Owl

Oriental Scops Owl

Scientific Name: Otus sunia

Malay Name: Jampuk Kecil Asia

Chinese Name: 红角鸮

Range: Found from northeastern Pakistan to the Indian subcontinent, China, southeastern Siberia, Japan, Korea and Indochina with the northern populations wintering south to the Thai-Malay Peninsula and Sumatra

Taxonomy: Polytypic. Subspecies are: japonicus, stictonotus, malayanus, sunia, distans, rufipennis, leggei, modestus, nicobaricus.

Local Subspecies: malayanus

Size: 19 cm

Identification: Adult greyish morph resembles Sunda Scops Owl but is smaller and has greyish-brown upperparts and head, bold dark streaks on whitish underparts, yellowish eyes and blackish bill. Adult rufous morph resembles greyish morph but has orange-rufous upperparts and head.

Similar looking species: Collared Scops Owl

Habitat: Forest, forest edge, secondary growth, wooded areas, parks and gardens.

Behaviour/Ecology: Feeds mainly on insects and spiders.

Local Status: Uncommon migrant

Conservation Status: Least Concern (BirdLife International 2021)

Location: Fort Canning, Mount Faber, Central Catchment Forest, Sungei Buloh, Kent Ridge, Pulau Ubin, Seletar Country Club, Bidadari and Dairy Farm Nature Park.

Featured articles:

Featured reports: Mar 2022, Oct 2022, Nov 2022, Dec 2022, Feb 2023

Past records in our database:

Showing only accepted records. Note that records currently under review are also not displayed, and the list may not be a full list of records of this species in Singapore. For more details, check the database here.

Migrant bar chart (see more bar charts):

Oriental Scops Owl Otus sunia
Estimated average number of individuals by week based on eBird data, Jul 2014 to Jun 2024
Peak week Dec 10-Dec 16
Early date 25 Oct 2022
Late date 12 Mar 2021
A tiny and rather rare migrant owl, but possibly overlooked due to its nocturnal habits and preference for forested habitat.
Greyish morph Oriental Scops Owl at Dairy Farm Nature Park. Photo credit: Francis Yap
Greyish morph Oriental Scops Owl at Bidadari. Photo Credit: Lawrence Cher
Rufous morph Oriental Scops Owl at Dairy Farm Nature Park. Photo credit: Francis Yap
Rufous morph Oriental Scops Owl at Dairy Farm Nature Park. Photo credit: See Toh Yew Wai
Greyish morph Oriental Scops Owl at Dairy Farm Nature Park. Photo credit: See Toh Yew Wai
Greyish morph Oriental Scops Owl at Bidadari. Photo Credit: Raymond Siew

External Links:

Conservation Status: IUCN Red List Page

Sound Recordings: xeno-canto Link

Wikipedia Entry: Wikipedia Link

eBird Species page: eBird (Oriental Scops-Owl)

References:

BirdLife International. (2021). Otus sunia. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T22728969A206482277.en. Accessed on 1 January 2023

Robson, C. (2014). Field guide to the birds of South-East Asia (Second Edition). Bloomsbury Publishing, London.

RECOMMENDED CITATION

Bird Society of Singapore. (n.d.). Oriental Scops Owl. Retrieved on July 20, 2025 from https://singaporebirds.com/species/oriental-scops-owl.

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