Reddish Scops-Owl Otus rufescens Scientific name definitions

15–18 cm; c. 70–83 g (sexes not identified) (1 König, C., F. Weick, and J.-H. Becking (2008). Owls of the World. Second Edition. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Smallish scops-owl. Forehead, ear tufts , eyebrows and chin pale buffy to white; upperparts tawny-rufous with small light to buff spots, particularly on scapulars, where often triangular or arrowhead-shaped; underparts paler, more cinnamon, with dark spots; irides brown or yellowish gold ; bill generally pinkish to horn; feet pinkish or yellowish. Differs from O. sagittatus in much smaller size. Juvenile similar, but less spotted. Subspecies malayensis slightly more rufous above and more rufous-ochre below than nominate.

Editor's Note: This article requires further editing work to merge existing content into the appropriate Subspecies sections. Please bear with us while this update takes place.

Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Lowland to submontane forest in Borneo; lowland rainforest or peat-swamp forest in Thailand and Malaysia; in Sumatra, occurs also in tall secondary forest, apparently including logged areas. Primarily a specialist of primary rainforest below c. 1000 m, mainly up to 600 m. In S Thailand, detected most frequently below 300 m elevation (2 Kemp, A., Kemp, M. and Thong-Aree, S. (2009). Surveys of nocturnal birds at Bala rainforest, southern Thailand. Forktail. 25: 117–124. Close ); in Malaysian Borneo found most often in primary rainforest from 19–894 m elevation (3 Puan, C.L., Yong, D.L., Azhar, B., Phua, M.H. and Lim, K.C. (2015). Ecological correlations of nocturnal bird assemblages in Malaysian Borneo. Forktail. 31: 82-86. Close ).

Sedentary (1 König, C., F. Weick, and J.-H. Becking (2008). Owls of the World. Second Edition. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), although possibly some elevational movement locally.

Little information. Stomachs of dead birds reported to contain insects (grasshoppers and crickets) and crab parts, the latter in Java (1 König, C., F. Weick, and J.-H. Becking (2008). Owls of the World. Second Edition. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

A hollow whistle, “hoooo  ”, repeated at intervals of c. 7–11 seconds.

Poorly known. In Java, eggs found from Mar–Apr, and downy nestling in mid-Jul (1 König, C., F. Weick, and J.-H. Becking (2008). Owls of the World. Second Edition. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Nests in natural tree holes and old cavities of woodpeckers and barbets. Chick with reddish-brown down.

Not globally threatened. Currently considered Near Threatened. CITES II. Rare throughout range, and probably declining in most parts, but elusive and little known. In S Malay Peninsula said to be regular and uncommon to more or less common, but in S peninsular Thailand known only from Chalerm Prakiat Wildlife Sanctuary, Hala-Bala Wildlife Sanctuary and Nakhon Si Thammarat Province. Considered threatened by habitat destruction in Thailand and probably also in peninsular Malaysia (4 Husin, M. Z., and M. N. Rajpar (2015). Effects of logging and recovery process on avian richness and diversity in hill dipterocarp tropical rainforest–Malaysia. Journal of Environmental Biology 36(1):121–127. Close ). Occurs in a series of protected areas throughout its range, such as Taman Negara National Park and Panti Forest Reserve in peninsular Malaysia, Way Kambas National Park in Sumatra, and Danum Valley Conservation Area and Gunung Mulu National Park in Borneo. Has been found in bird markets in Jakarta, Indonesia (5 Shepherd, C.R. (2012). The owl trade in Jakarta, Indonesia: a spot check on the largest bird markets. BirdingASIA. 18: 58-59. Close ).