The white-fronted scops owl (''Otus sagittatus'') is a small Asian
owl in the family
Strigidae. It has a small and declining
population about which little is known, and is dependent on
lowland and
foothill
Foothills or piedmont are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range, higher hill range or an upland area. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills and the adjacent topograp ...
forests which are rapidly being destroyed. This species of owl is considered
vulnerable
Vulnerable may refer to:
General
* Vulnerability
* Vulnerability (computing)
* Vulnerable adult
* Vulnerable species
Music
Albums
* ''Vulnerable'' (Marvin Gaye album), 1997
* ''Vulnerable'' (Tricky album), 2003
* ''Vulnerable'' (The Used album) ...
and has a population of about 2,500–10,000. It is found in western
Thailand and peninsular
Malaysia.
Its range covers of
forest at altitudes of above
sea-level.
The white-fronted scops owl was
described by the American ornithologist
John Cassin in 1849 and given the
binomial name
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
''Ephialtes sagittatus''.
The species is
monotypic.
The white-fronted scops owl has two modes of defence. The first is that it can puff up its feathers to triple its body size. The second is that it can stretch its body upwards and turn its head at an angle in the direction of the predator that it is hiding from, reducing its profile and hence visibility.
References
External links
White-fronted Scops Owl at OwlPages.com*
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white-fronted scops owl
Birds of the Malay Peninsula
white-fronted scops owl
{{Strigiformes-stub