Sokoke Scops-Owl Otus ireneae Scientific name definitions

16–18 cm (1 König, C., F. Weick, and J.-H. Becking (2008). Owls of the World. Second Edition. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ); 46–50 g (n = two males) (1 König, C., F. Weick, and J.-H. Becking (2008). Owls of the World. Second Edition. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Small scops-owl with dark brown, grey-brown and rufous morphs. Crown streaked dusky brown, small ear tufts sometimes not visible in the field, with dark spots; nape feathers have pale bases, giving spotted effect; facial disc light rufous to brown and buff, with whitish or buffy eyebrows; wing-coverts finely vermiculated; flight-feathers barred whitish-cream and brown; tail with incomplete dark brown and pale bars; underparts paler than upperparts, with darker wash on chest, and few sooty spots; irides pale yellow; bill and cere pale yellow with pinkish wash (1 König, C., F. Weick, and J.-H. Becking (2008). Owls of the World. Second Edition. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ); toes pale greyish-brown (1 König, C., F. Weick, and J.-H. Becking (2008). Owls of the World. Second Edition. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Juvenile very much like adult.

SE Kenya (Arabuko-Sokoke Forest) and NE Tanzania (lowlands N of E Usambara Mts).

Forest . Generally prefers Cynometra-Brachylaena forest on red magarini sands, but also occurs in Cynometra thicket, and in Afzelia-Cynometra forest on white soils; occasionally wanders into Brachystegia woodland; absent where canopy below 3–4 m. Found in lowlands from 50–170 m elevation in Kenya, and from 200–400 m in E Usambaras in Tanzania (1 König, C., F. Weick, and J.-H. Becking (2008). Owls of the World. Second Edition. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Unknown, but probably largely sedentary owing to its restricted range. Evidence of some dispersal away from normal habitat. Six owls (three pairs) radio-tracked in Cynometra woodland in the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest from Jul–Dec 1993 had a mean home range of 8·8 ha (range 3·2–12·7 ha; minimum convex polygon method); activity peaked immediately after dusk and just before dawn (2 Virani, M. (2000). Home range and movement patterns of Sokoke Scops Owl Otus ireneae. Ostrich. 71(1–2): 139-142. Close ).

Mainly insects; stomach contents from a few individuals showed arboreal leaf-eating insects such as crickets, katydids and phasmids. Some crepuscular activity, but mostly nocturnal. May use perch for hunting, dropping on to prey; in most observations, seen perched 3–4 m above ground. Pellets collected from three pairs in the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest yielded 400 prey items: 91·2% beetles (Coleoptera; mostly scarab beetles), 1·8% crickets (Orthoptera), 6·3% unidentified invertebrates, 0·2% ants (Hymenoptera) and 0·5% small birds (3 Virani, M.Z. (2008). Diet composition of Sokoke Scops Owl Otus ireneae in Arabuko-Sokoke Forest. Scopus. 27(1): 6-9. Close ).

A whistled “tu-tu-tu-tu-tu...  ” given in series of 10–20 notes, at rate of c. three notes every 2 seconds (1 König, C., F. Weick, and J.-H. Becking (2008). Owls of the World. Second Edition. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ); calls most frequently 2 hours before dawn and 2 hours after dusk.

Breeding habits unknown. Presumably nests in tree cavities like other scops-owls (1 König, C., F. Weick, and J.-H. Becking (2008). Owls of the World. Second Edition. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

ENDANGERED. CITES I. Previously listed as Vulnerable. Restricted-range species: present in Tanzania-Malawi Mountains EBA and East African Coastal Forests EBA. Kenyan population estimated at c. 1000 pairs in 1984, and about the same in 1994, with density of 7–8 pairs/km² in preferred habitat; considered locally common. More recently, call-playback surveys in the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest resulted in estimates of 6·1 pairs/km² in 2005 and 5·7 pairs/km², which translates to a population estimate of about c. 800 pairs (4 Virani, M.Z., Njoroge, P. and Gordon, I. (2010). Disconcerting trends in populations of the endangered Sokoke Scops Owl Otus ireneae in the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, Kenya. Ostrich. 81(2): 155-158. Close ). Further study on distribution needed; may occur N of Sokoke in the Mundane Range, where suitable habitat exists; thought possibly more widespread and more numerous in N Tanzania, following records in Kambai and Kwamgumi Forest Reserves. Global population estimate 2500–10,000 individuals according to BirdLife International. Forest destruction the major threat. Although Sokoke Forest Reserve (400 km²) provides limited forest protection, commercial logging of Brachylaena trees for the carving industry and other valuable timber occurs; 43 km² nature reserve established inside the forest reserve by the Kenyan Ministry of Natural Resources and, although no cutting permitted, instances of large-scale felling still reported; conservation regulations ignored perhaps because of lack of funds for enforcement. Also, areas of forest outside the reserve being cleared for exotic plantations. Recent modelling effort suggests that owing to climate change, the species’ range will shift southward, with a loss of 64% of highly suitable habitat, and a complete disappearance from the Usambara Mts, over the next 60 years (5 Monadjem, A., Virani, M.Z., Jackson, C. and Reside, A. (2013). Rapid decline and shift in the future distribution predicted for the endangered Sokoke Scops Owl Otus ireneae due to climate change. Bird Conservation International. 23(2): 247-258. Close ). Proposed conservation measures include increasing size of nature reserve to 60 km², and setting aside 200 km² of surrounding forest reserve for traditional uses only; also, improving facilities for forest officers to enable them to carry out and enforce policies. Conservation efforts impeded by lack of funding.