The Sunda scops owl (''Otus lempiji'') is a small brown owl native to the

Sunda Islands The Sunda Islands ( id, Kepulauan Sunda) are a group of islands in the Malay Archipelago.Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Sunda Islands" . ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 26 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. They consist of the Greater Sunda ...

Taxonomy

The taxon is considered a subspecies of ''

Otus bakkamoena The Indian scops owl (''Otus bakkamoena'') is a resident species of owl native to South Asia. Taxonomy and etymology This species formerly included the collared scops owl (''Otus lettia''). The species epithet is derived from "bakamuna", the S ...

'' by some authors.

Description

It grows from and can weigh . It is speckled with black on the upper parts and streaked with black on the lower parts. It has a light collar and dark eyes, which differentiate it from the reddish scops, mountain scops, Oriental scops and Rajah scops owls.

Distribution and habitat

It lives on the

Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula (Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area ...

, Singapore, Borneo,

Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...

and Java. It can be found primarily in forests and gardens but is occasionally attracted to buildings.

Diet

The diet of the Sunda scops owl mainly consists of insects, as well as small animals such as geckos and lizards.

Conservation

It has been included in the IUCN Red List of threatened species as a least concern species. It is common throughout its range where there is suitable habitat.

Behaviour

Breeding

The Sunda scops owl lines its nest with plant fibre. It will lay up to three eggs in a tree hollow from January to April and their breeding season can sometimes be extended to June or late July. The Sunda scops owl tends to behave aggressively when threatened by other owls by displaying territorial behavior. A female Sunda scops owl will react aggressively when feeling threatened by responding vocally to warn intruders from interfering and keeping them at a distance.

Voice

Its call is a hooting yelp in between a longer period of silence. The Sunda Scops owls use their callings to mark their territory and have evolved to have voice individuality to improve their territory proclamation. Every owl has its own unique vocal characteristics such as varying frequencies at which they produce their callings/noises which gives them each a unique voice. Having a unique voice/calling makes it easier for an owl to stand out from its competitors and mark its territory more effectively.

Gallery

File:Rajah Scops-Owl (Otus brookii) juvenile.jpg, none, From

Gunung Gede Mount Gede or Gunung Gede (''Big Mountain'' in Sundanese) is a stratovolcano in West Java, Indonesia. The volcano contains two peaks with Mount Gede as one peak and Mount Pangrango for the other one. Three major cities, Cianjur, Sukabumi and B ...

, West Java. File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Een Maleise dwerg-ooruil (Otus bakkamoena lempiji) met twee jongen Dampar Oost-Java TMnr 10006595.jpg, none, Historic (c. 1938) image of an adult with two young, Dampar, East Java.