The Ryukyu scops owl (Ryūkyū scops owl) or elegant scops owl (''Otus elegans'') is a small rufous-brown owl with a brown face disk and a cinnamon facial ruff. The bill is olive-grey and it has yellow eyes. The Otus elegans botelensis is a territorial bird. As their beaks are unable to make holes in the trees, their nests are mainly made in naturally decayed tree holes or holes that have been made by other animals. Occasionally traces of their nests can be found in man-made constructions such as drainage holes or toilets’ water tanks. Their staple diet includes katydids, moths, millipedes, and other invertebrates. Occasionally they feed on geckos, lizards or even Japanese White-eye and other small vertebrates.

Distribution

The distribution of the Otus elegans botelensis is restricted by the distribution of naturally occurring tree holes. The size of the holes is usually a diameter at breast height (dbh) of more than 38 cm. Different type of trees provides differing quantities of such holes for the Otus elegans botelensis. Observation had revealed that tree holes are more likely to form in Pometia pinnata compared to other types of tree, therefore, areas with lots of Pometia pinnata have greater densities of the Otus elegans botelensis. It is found on the

Ryukyu Islands The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Geography of Taiwan, Taiwan: the Ryukyu Islands are divided into the Satsunan Islands (Ōsumi Islands, Ōsumi, Tokara Islands, Tokara and A ...

of southern Japan, on Lanyu Island off south-east Taiwan, and on the Batanes and Babuyan Islands off northern

Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...

, Philippines, in tropical or subtropical evergreen forest. It is becoming rare due to

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

Subspecies

* ''O. e. elegans'' (Cassin, 1852) * ''O. e. calayensis'' McGregor, 1904 * ''O. e. interpositus'' Kuroda, 1923 * ''O. e. botelensis'' Kuroda, 1928 - Lanyu Scops Owl

Notes

References

BirdLife Species Factsheet - Elegant Scops-owl

Otus (bird) Birds of the Ryukyu Islands Birds described in 1852 Endemic birds of Japan {{Strigiformes-stub