The Annobón scops owl (''Otus feae'') is an owl endemic to the

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...

island of

Annobón Annobón (; ) is a province of Equatorial Guinea. The province consists of the island of Annobón and its associated islets in the Gulf of Guinea. Annobón is the smallest province of Equatorial Guinea in both area and population. According t ...

. The current population is estimated to be around 50-249 individuals, with the population declining due to habitat alteration and destruction. When describing the species in 1903,

Tommaso Salvadori Count Adelardo Tommaso Salvadori Paleotti (30 September 1835 – 9 October 1923) was an Italian zoologist and ornithologist. Biography Salvadori was born in Porto San Giorgio, son of Count Luigi Salvadori and Ethelyn Welby, who was English. His ...

noted that the birds were abundant in wooded areas at altitudes of 400–500 metres on the island. Few sightings of the bird have been reported since then. Little data is known about the Annobón scops owl. It is considered to have similar characteristics to the

African scops owl The African scops owl (''Otus senegalensis'') is a small owl which is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa. Taxonomy William Swainson first described the species in 1837 from a specimen collected in Senegal, and initially assigned it to the now d ...

, apart from a smaller wing length (about 120–135 mm).

References

Annobón scops owl Endemic birds of Annobón Critically endangered fauna of Africa Annobón scops owl {{Strigiformes-stub