The Philippine scops owl (''Otus megalotis'') is a common

owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...

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 else ...

to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, belonging to the family of the typical owls

Strigidae The true owls or typical owls (family Strigidae) are one of the two generally accepted families of owls, the other being the barn owls (Tytonidae). This large family comprises 230 living or recently extinct species in 24 genera. The typical owl ...

. Other common names include "Otus Whitehead", "Whitehead scops owl" and "Luzon lowland scops owl". Everett's scops owl (''Otus everetti)'' and Negros scops owls (''Otus nigrorum)'' were formerly considered

conspecific Biological specificity is the tendency of a characteristic such as a behavior or a biochemical variation to occur in a particular species. Biochemist Linus Pauling stated that "Biological specificity is the set of characteristics of living organis ...

but are now classified as separate species. Distinguishing features of these birds include their large upright ears from which they get their specific name ''megalotis'',

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

for "large ears". Philippine scops owls are relatively small, sedentary birds that are naturally found in the forest understory. There are three subspecies which show variations in morphology and are distributed among different islands of the

Philippine Archipelago The islands of the Philippines, also known as the Philippine Archipelago, comprises about 7,641 islands, of which only about 2,000 are inhabited.monogamous species that offer parental care and construct their nest in tree cavities. These owls are ferocious nocturnal carnivores that feed on insects and small mammals. The

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

considers this species as

Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

but they may be vulnerable to deforestation and fragmentation.

Description

The Philippine scops owl is a fairly small-to-mid-sized species of owl, but is arguably the largest true species of

scops owl Scops owls are typical owls in family Strigidae belonging to the genus ''Otus'' and are restricted to the Old World. ''Otus'' is the largest genus of owls with 59 species. Scops owls are colored in various brownish hues, sometimes with a lighter ...

. Adults measure from . Their body mass can range from , with females often considerably larger than males. A distinguishing feature of this owl is its large ears that stand upright on its head. They also have big eyes that are dark in the center with a red/orange edge. In general, these owls are covered in dark brown feathers with dark streaks. Their ear-tufts also have a similar pattern. Their forehead is whitish and they have a dark line around their

facial disc In ornithology, the facial disc is the concave collection of feathers on the face of some birds—most notably owls—surrounding the eyes. The concavity of the facial disc forms a circular paraboloid that collects sound waves and directs those ...

. There are three subspecies of Philippine scops owl which show three variations in morphology. The smallest morph, ''Otus megalotis nigrorum,'' has a reddish-brown color, n
scapular
line, and no feathers on its upper feet. The medium-sized morph, ''Otus megalotis everetti,'' also lacks a scapular line and feathers on its upper feet but it has a more greyish-brown color. Finally, ''Otus megalotis megalotis,'' is the largest of all three varieties and also has a grey-brown color but it shows a scapular line and feathers on its upper feet. Other morphological differences between the subspecies can be seen in the length of the tail, the wings, the culmen and th
tarsus
These traits are longer in ''O. m. megalotis'' and are shorter in ''O. m. nigrorum.'' There are no significant differences in morphology between male and female Philippine scops owls, although female scops owls tend to be larger in general. The owlets, however, present some contrast as they have fluffy

rufous Rufous () is a color that may be described as reddish-brown or brownish-red, as of rust or oxidised iron. The first recorded use of ''rufous'' as a color name in English was in 1782. However, the color is also recorded earlier in 1527 as a dia ...

feathers. Once they reach the sub-adult age, they are black and greyish-white until they finally reach adulthood and turn brownish.

Taxonomy

The Philippine scops owl belongs to the S''trigiformes'' order and the ''

'' family (typical owls). The ''Strigidae'' family is the largest of the two families of owls and shows a great diversity, with species ranging from 40g to 40kg. Key features that distinguish owls of this family from their closest relatives (''

Tytonidae Barn-owls (family Tytonidae) are one of the two families of owls, the other being the true owls or typical owls, Strigidae. They are medium to large owls with large heads and characteristic heart-shaped faces. They have long, strong legs wit ...

'' family) are their large eyes and the fact that their facial disk is circular and not heart-shaped. ''Otus megalotis'' is further classified into the Striginae subfamily according to skull morphology. The ''

Otus Otus may refer to: * Otus (education), a K-12 educational technology company * HMS ''Otus'', two ships in the Royal Navy * ''Otus'' (bird), genus of owls * Otus (mythology), giant in Greek mythology, brother of Ephialtes, one of Aloadae * Otus ...

'' genus (scops owls) is one of the largest owl genera, counting approximately 50 species, yet these species are one of the smallest in size. They are all found in the Old World with the exception of one species, the

flammulated owl The flammulated owl (''Psiloscops flammeolus'') is a small migratory North American owl in the family Strigidae. It is the only species placed in the genus ''Psiloscops''. Taxonomy The flammulated owl was formally described in 1852 by the Germ ...

, which is found in North America. A distinguishing feature between this genus and other genera of the ''Striginae'' subfamily is vocalization. The Philippine scops owl is endemic to the

Philippine Archipelago The islands of the Philippines, also known as the Philippine Archipelago, comprises about 7,641 islands, of which only about 2,000 are inhabited.speciation and is a great location to study

phylogeography Phylogeography is the study of the historical processes that may be responsible for the past to present geographic distributions of genealogical lineages. This is accomplished by considering the geographic distribution of individuals in light of ge ...

. It was formed around 30-35 million years ago and lead to the evolution of different subspecies of ''Otus megalotis''. The expansion and contraction of biomes during the last glaciation period as well as the

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sc ...

in that area lead to isolation of individuals which eventually caused speciation. There are seven ''Otus'' species in the Philippines, 5 of which are endemic to islands in the archipelago. These species include '' Otus longicornis, Otus mindorensis, Otus mirus, Otus megalotis'' and '' Otus fuliginosus''. The other two species, '' Otus mantananensis'' and ''

Otus elegans Otus may refer to: * Otus (education), a K-12 educational technology company * HMS ''Otus'', two ships in the Royal Navy * ''Otus'' (bird), genus of owls * Otus (mythology), giant in Greek mythology, brother of Ephialtes, one of Aloadae * Otus o ...

'' are not endemic to the Philippines. The three ''Otus megalotis'' subspecies are distributed among different islands of the Philippine Archipelago which suggests they could have evolved through speciation from geographic isolation.

Habitat and distribution

Rainforests Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainforest ...

, mature secondary woodland forests and forest edges are typical habitats in which Philippine scops owls can be found. They are mostly observed in the

understory In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the forest canopy without penetrating it to any great extent, but abo ...

and rarely go above 1000m altitudes, with the exception of individuals which were reported on

Mount Data Mount Data is a mountain located in the Cordillera Central mountain range rising to a height of in the north of Luzon Island, Philippines. It is about north of Baguio on the borders of the provinces of Benguet and Mountain Province along the ...

, Luzon. Researchers caught a Philippine scops owl in a net set up at 2m above ground during their study, which confirms that they are mostly an understory

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. The habitats pose nu ...

species. ''Otus megalotis'' is endemic to the Philippine Archipelago but the three subspecies are distributed in different locations across the archipelago. ''O. m. megalotis'' species is found mostly in the northern islands such as Luzon, Marinduque and Catanduanes. ''O. m. everetti'' species exists in the eastern and southern islands including Samar, Biliran, Leyte, Mindanao and Basilan. Finally, ''O. m. nigrorum species'' is endemic to Negros Island. These subspecies are not known to migrate and therefore have a limited distribution. Although they are classified as a species of Least Concern, habitat destruction from deforestation and fragmentation is a major threat to their population as they depend on forests for their survival.

Behaviour

Philippine scops owls are

sedentary Sedentary lifestyle is a lifestyle type, in which one is physically inactive and does little or no physical movement and or exercise. A person living a sedentary lifestyle is often sitting or lying down while engaged in an activity like soci ...

birds with a limited

home range A home range is the area in which an animal lives and moves on a periodic basis. It is related to the concept of an animal's territory which is the area that is actively defended. The concept of a home range was introduced by W. H. Burt in 1943. He ...

. The fact that different subspecies are found on different islands limits

intraspecific competition Intraspecific competition is an interaction in population ecology, whereby members of the same species compete for limited resources. This leads to a reduction in fitness for both individuals, but the more fit individual survives and is able to r ...

and allows these birds to have a smaller distribution where all the necessary resources are available.

Vocalizations

Philippine scops owls are a nocturnal species and vocalize more actively at night. Their song corresponds to "oik oik oik ook" with long and powerful notes that are clearly distinguished from one another. The last "ook" is lower than the previous three notes. Their call sounds completely different with a series of three to six escalating notes that are loud and abrupt. From what is known, there is no difference between the call and the songs of females, males and juveniles.

Diet

These carnivorous owls prey upon animals such as insects and small mammals. During nighttime, they perch in trees where the land is relatively open, which offers them a better view of the surrounding preys. They are ferocious feeders and specialize in tearing flesh. Their

raptorial The term ''raptorial'' implies much the same as ''predatory'' but most often refers to modifications of an arthropod's foreleg that make it function for the grasping of prey while it is consumed, where the gripping surfaces are formed from the o ...

claws, curved bill and excellent hearing and sighting skill make them powerful predators. They have been observed to kill their victim by crushing its head, then breaking every other bone of the body to finally swallow the animal whole. This method has cost the lives of many juveniles who suffocate because the prey is too large to swallow. Philippine scops owls were also noticed to feed on spider species such as ''

Heteropoda venatoria ''Heteropoda venatoria'' is a species of spider in the family Sparassidae, the huntsman spiders. It is native to the tropical regions of the world, and it is present in some subtropical areas as an introduced species. Its common names include gi ...

.''Barrion-Dupo, A. L. A. (2009). Arachnophagy by the Philippine scops-owl, Otus megalotis Walden. ''Philippine Entomologist'', ''23''(2), 174-178.

Reproduction

''Otus megalotis'' is often spotted alone but has also been seen in monogamous pairs. Not a lot of information is known about their reproduction but they are thought to breed throughout the year where females will lay 1 or 2 eggs annually. Sexual maturity is reached around the age of 2 but their lifespan is unknown. One juvenile with two adults have been witnessed multiple times, which supports the notion that they are monogamous birds that display care by both parents. They construct their nests in tree cavities but also among the roots of dead trees on the ground.

Gallery

File:Philippie Scoop Owl.jpg, Philippine scops owl File:Výreček filipínský Zoo Praha.jpg, Philippine scops owl, Prague Zoo

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1267885 Philippine scops owl Endemic birds of the Philippines Philippine scops owl Philippine scops owl