Family Typical Owls (Strigidae)
Endangered
Sokoke Scops-owl (Otus ireneae)
Taxonomy
French: Petit-duc d’Irene German: Sokoke-Zwergohreule Spanish: Autillo de Sokoke
Taxonomy:
Otus ireneae
Ripley
, 1966,Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, Kenya
.Distribution:
SE Kenya (Arabuko-Sokoke Forest) and NE Tanzania (lowlands N of E Usambara Mts).
Descriptive notes
16–18 cm; 46–50 g (n = two males). Small scops-owl with dark brown, grey-brown and rufous morphs. Crown streaked dusky brown, small ear tufts sometimes... read more
Voice
A whistled “tu-tu-tu-tu-tu...” given in series of 10–20 notes, at rate of c.... read more
Habitat
Forest. Generally prefers Cynometra-Brachylaena forest on red magarini sands, but also... read more
Food and feeding
Mainly insects; stomach contents from a few individuals showed arboreal leaf-eating insects such as crickets, katydids and phasmids. Some... read more
Breeding
Breeding habits unknown. Presumably nests in tree cavities like other scops-owls.
Movements
Unknown, but probably largely sedentary owing to its restricted range. Evidence of some dispersal... read more
Status and conservation
ENDANGERED. CITES I. Previously listed as Vulnerable. Restricted-range species: present in Tanzania-Malawi Mountains EBA and East African Coastal Forests EBA. Kenyan... read more
Probably closest to O. icterorhynchus. Monotypic.