Palau Scops-Owl Otus podarginus Scientific name definitions

22 cm; no data on body mass (1 König, C., F. Weick, and J.-H. Becking (2008). Owls of the World. Second Edition. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Dark reddish-brown owl with large, rounded head without ear-tufts; facial disc only marginally paler, with whitish lores and eyebrows; upperparts with few light streaks, scapulars with black-tipped white spots; lighter below , with some pale barring and spotting. Tarsus unfeathered; irides brown to orange-yellow (1 König, C., F. Weick, and J.-H. Becking (2008). Owls of the World. Second Edition. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ); bill, tarsi and toes dirty whitish (1 König, C., F. Weick, and J.-H. Becking (2008). Owls of the World. Second Edition. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Juvenile barred on crown, back and underparts.

Palau Is (Babelthuap, Koror, Ngeruktabel, Peleliu and Angaur).

Uses wide range of forest types , mostly in lowlands (1 König, C., F. Weick, and J.-H. Becking (2008). Owls of the World. Second Edition. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Frequently found in middle and upper levels of woodlands and lagoon trees; often in deep ravines and mangrove swamps; also steep forested ridges; frequently noted near villages.

Resident (1 König, C., F. Weick, and J.-H. Becking (2008). Owls of the World. Second Edition. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

No quantitative studies. Known to eat large orthopterans, centipedes, other arthropods and earthworms (1 König, C., F. Weick, and J.-H. Becking (2008). Owls of the World. Second Edition. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Male song a long series of low, mellow “whok” notes which rise in intensity and pitch to a sharp, whistled “quirt-quirt”  or “wut-whoo”, latter repeated at 2-second intervals in flight, faster with increasing excitement; female commonly joins in duet, with lower, mellower song. The calls are not dissimilar to notes uttered by the Palau Fruit-dove (Ptilinopus pelewensis), which can also be heard at night.

Lays Feb–Mar. Territorial, in pairs and family groups throughout year; territory 100–200 m in diameter; nest in hollow tree or tree cavity. Clutch size reported to be 3–4 eggs; egg size c. 34·3 mm × 31·7 mm (1 König, C., F. Weick, and J.-H. Becking (2008). Owls of the World. Second Edition. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Chicks leave nest still covered with buffy down. No other information.

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). CITES II. Restricted-range species: present in Palau EBA (2 Stattersfield, A. J., M. J. Crosby, A. J. Long, and D. C. Wege (1998). Endemic Bird Areas of the World: Priorities for Biodiversity Conservation. BirdLife Conservation Series 7. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK. Close ). Current status uncertain; no data on global numbers or population trend, although numbers are posited to be stable in the absence of information to the contrary. Formerly said to be abundant throughout its tiny range, with territories very densely spaced; in mid-1940s, 33 pairs found on Koror and 4 on Peleliu; numbers apparently declined through the 1960s, but by the late 1970s the species was found to be “abundant throughout the archipelago.” Further field research required to determine present population level.