The Pemba scops owl (''Otus pembaensis'') is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Pemba Island Pemba Island ( ar, الجزيرة الخضراء ''al-Jazīra al-khadrā'', literally "The Green Island"; sw, Pemba kisiwa) is a Tanzanian island forming part of the Zanzibar Archipelago, lying within the Swahili Coast in the Indian Ocean. Geog ...

which is part of and off the coast of

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

Taxonomy

The Pemba scops owl was formerly regarded as a

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of the

Madagascar scops owl The Madagascar scops owl (''Otus rutilus''), also known as the Malagasy scops owl or Rainforest scops owl, is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found throughout Madagascar, now that is has recently been lumped with the Torotoroka s ...

, ''Otus rutilus'' ''sensu lato'', due to morphological similarities but genetic research has shown that it is closer to the

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

in which the

African scops owl The African scops owl (''Otus senegalensis'') is a small owl which is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa. Taxonomy William John Swainson first described the species in 1837 from a specimen collected in Senegal, and initially assigned it to the no ...

, ''Otus senegalensis'', is situated.

Description

The Pemba scops owl is a medium-sized scops-owl with short ear-tufts. There are two colour morphs, a brown morph which is mainly pale rufous-brown with light streaking on the head and faint barring on paler underparts and a rufous morph which is a bright, rich rufous, that is paler on the underwing coverts. Both morphs show a pale scapular band, whitish in the brown morph and pale rufous in the rufous morph. The bill is black while the cere is greenish-yellow and the eyes and legs are yellow. It is tall with a wingspan.

Voice

The call is a single "hoo" note which is made at irregular intervals or in a rapid series of 4-6 notes given at intervals of half a second. The pair duets with the male calls being shorter, and lower in pitch.

Distribution and habitat

The Pemba scops owl is endemic to Pemba, the northern island of the

Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands ...

archipelago, part of Tanzania, off the coast of east Africa. On Pemba this owl is found in all wooded habitats from native forest to overgrown plantations of

cloves Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands (or Moluccas) in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring or fragrance in consumer products, s ...

and

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...

. However, it is most common in native forest.

Behaviour

The biology of the Pemba scops owl is little known. It is nocturnal and roosts among foliage or in dense undergrowth during the day. It starts calling soon after sunset and then hunts. Its diet is mainly insects which may be caught in flight, gleaned from leaves or caught on the ground after a short glide from a perch. The breeding behaviour is almost unknown, although it possibly breeds from August to October and nests in natural holes in trees.

Conservation status

The Pemba scops owl is listed as a Vulnerable by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

because it is restricted to Pemba, the population continues to decline and there is a loss of habitat as local farmers clear plantations to make way for open agricultural fields. It is now largely confined to the two small remaining native forests: Ngezi, which is in area, and Msitu Mkuu, at only . The population is estimated to be between 1,500 and 4,500 breeding pairs, although it is in rapid decline.

References

External links

BirdLife Species Factsheet.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1266938 Pemba scops owl Endemic birds of Tanzania Pemba Island Pemba scops owl Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Northern Zanzibar–Inhambane coastal forest mosaic