The sandy scops owl (''Otus icterorhynchus''), or cinnamon scops owl, is an owl from the family

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 ow ...

found in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Taxonomy

The sandy scops owl is thought to be basal in the lineage of the genus ''Otus'', along with the

Sokoke scops owl The Sokoke scops owl (''Otus ireneae'') is a highly localized species of scops owl found in lowland forests of Kenya and Tanzania. The greatest population of this species of owl is in the '' Cynometra-Manilkara'' forest, which is less than one-th ...

(''Otus ireneae''), but there has been no genetic material for testing from the sandy scops owl. In addition, some authorities consider that the subspecies of sandy scops owl should be treated as two different species.

Subspecies

Two subspecies are currently recognised: *''Otus icterorhynchus icterorhynchus'': West Africa *''Otus icterorhynchus holerythrus'': northwestern central Africa.

Description

A small owl which has an overall pale rufous colour, a plain face, a pale yellow bill and yellow eyes. The pale stripe along the shoulders is quite obvious. The adults are pale rufous brown, finely spotted with white and barred with buff. The underparts are paler and more rufous with buff bars and white spots on the belly and vent. The tail, flight feathers and greater upperwing coverts are rufous barred with black. Length is about , and wingspan is .

Voice

The sound is a long whistling "twooo" which descends in pitch.

Distribution and habitat

The sandy scops owl has a scattered distribution across the African tropical rainforest ; it has been recorded from Guinea,

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and southwest. It ...

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west- central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; th ...

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

Congo Congo or The Congo may refer to either of two countries that border the Congo River in central Africa: * Democratic Republic of the Congo, the larger country to the southeast, capital Kinshasa, formerly known as Zaire, sometimes referred to a ...

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

and

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of the C ...

. The sandy scops owl occurs in lowland evergreen forest, open canopy forest and scrub, or in open forest mosaic land.

Behaviour

The sandy scops owl is rarely seen and little is known about its habits. It is probably crepuscular and insectivorous feeding largely on grasshoppers and crickets. The breeding season is probably during February and March.

References

BirdLife Species Factsheet
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q1266781

sandy scops owl The sandy scops owl (''Otus icterorhynchus''), or cinnamon scops owl, is an owl from the family Strigidae found in Africa. Taxonomy The sandy scops owl is thought to be basal in the lineage of the genus ''Otus'', along with the Sokoke scops owl ...

Birds of the African tropical rainforest Birds of prey of Sub-Saharan Africa