Seychelles Scops-Owl

It reaches a length between 19 and 22 cm. The wings are about 17 cm. Its plumage is rufous brown and exhibits black shaft streaks. The underparts and the facial disc are rufous. The long grey legs are unfeathered. The eyes are large and golden yellow. The ear tufts are very small. Its call which sounds like a rasping whaugh with various tok tok notes can be heard from a far distance and in particular in the darkness. Its diet consists of geckos, tree frogs and insects .

The Seychelles Scops-Owl is classified as Endangered (EN), considered to be facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild.

Historically, the habitat of the Seychelles scops-owl was threatened by the cinnamon, coconut and logging industries. Today, there is evidence that their small populations are stable and possibly increasing. IUCN Status: Endangered USFWS Status: Endangered Major Threats: Small, isolated population Habitat: Upland forests Location: Island of Mah More

* Seychelles Scops-owl, Otus insularis * Simeulue Scops-owl, Otus umbra * Enggano Scops-owl, Otus enganensis * Nicobar Scops-owl, Otus alius * Pemba Scops-owl, Otus pembaensis * Comoro Scops-owl, Otus pauliani * Siau Scops-owl, Otus siaoensis * Anjouan Scops-owl, Otus capnodes * Moheli Scops-owl, Otus moheliensis * Malagasy Scops-owl, Otus rutilus More

The Seychelles scops-owl is dark brown-chestnut, mottled with black and pale brown, and barred on the back. The underparts and round face have a faint rufous colouring. The large, golden yellow eyes provide excellent vision, and the powerful, yellow legs and sharp, black claws ensure they are proficient night time predators. Juveniles are slightly paler than adults, and heavily barred, with less black streaking (2). More

Seychelles Scops-owl Otus insularis 2009 IUCN Red List Category (as evaluated by BirdLife International - the official Red List Authority for birds for IUCN): Endangered Justification This species is listed as Endangered because it has an extremely small population, which is probably stable. Its population size and very small range on one island make it susceptible to stochastic events, such as extreme weather events and the introduction of alien taxa. More

* Seychelles Scops-owl, heard and eventually seen at dusk near the radio station above Victoria. * Seychelles Swiftlet, easy to see in the late afternoons around the hotels at Beau Vallon, also seen on Praslin. * Broad-Billed Roller, a vagrant was found at the edge of the Tern colony on Bird on the 28th of October, still present on the 29th. More

* Seychelles Scops-owl (Otus insularis) has been downlisted from Critically Endangered to Endangered because there is new evidence that its extremely small population is stable and possibly increasing. Upland forests have increased in extent over the last 40 years due to re-growth of forests following long-term reduction of the cinnamon, coconut and logging industries. More