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Scops owl

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iScops owls
Western Screech Owl (Otus kennicottii)
Western Screech Owl (Otus kennicottii)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Strigiformes
Family: Strigidae
Genus: Otus
Species

See text.

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Scops owls are a genus Otus of owls.

Contents

[edit] Fossil record

Some fossil evidence shows that all scops owls evolved from a tropical North American species. The screech owl fossils found in Kansas from the Upper Pliocene, support this hypothesis. However, the genus Otus also has a different placement of the procoracoid bone (less of an anterior incline) and coracoid bone, when it is compared to other "New World owls" (Ford, 472). an alternative view is that the scops owls evolved from Asian relatives (Johnson,1).

The 2003 revision to the AOU checklist places most of the New World members of this genus in Megascops Kaup, 1848. See ITIS entry. However, the Flammulated Owl is excluded [1].

[edit] Size and appearance

The scops owls are compact in size and shape and the female is usually larger than the male. Otus flameolus and Otus asio are two of the smallest species of owls in North America (BONA, 369). All of the birds in this genus are small and agile. Their gray, brown, and sometimes even red coloration is perfect for camouflaging them against the bark of trees.

[edit] Food and foraging habits

The scops owls take a wide variety of food items, including large insects, earthworms, aquatic invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles, small mammals like bats and mice, fish, and even other small birds. Owls are nocturnal hunters. They ususally hunt from a perch, in a large "semi-open landscape" with many old trees that have unoccupied cavities (Marchesi and Seergio, 1). The scops owl's good sense of hearing helps them find prey in any habitat, and the well developed raptorial claws and curved bill are used for ripping flesh (FDC). Screech owls usually eat their prey in their cavity nests, to make sure that they are not themselves attacked by a larger predatory bird.

[edit] Social structure and mating habits

The scops owls are primarily solitary birds, until breeding begins during late winter. The male screech owl will usually make a nest for the female to choose. The female will choose which male she prefers, by the quality of the cavity and food located inside (FDC). Most of the female owls in the Otus genus lay and incubate their eggs in a cavity nest, which is usually made by another animal.

Scops owls are monogamous birds with biparental care, and the male will feed the female during the incubation period (FDC). This genus only fledges one young per year. The young of most of the birds in this genus are altricial to semialtricial (TBH, 296-298).

[edit] Species

[edit] References

Alsop, Fred J., 2001. Birds of North America (BONA), Eastern region. Smithsonian Handbooks.

Dewey, Tanya, and Stephen McDonald, 2006. Otus asio. Animal Diversity Web. http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/otus_asio.html

Marchesi, Luigi, and Fabrizio Sergio, 2005. Distribution, density, diet and productivity of the Scops Owl Otus scops in the Italian Alps.

Ehrlich, Paul R., David S. Dobkin, and Darryle Wheye, 1988. The Birder's Handbook (TBH). A Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds.

Fifth Day Creations (FDC), 2000. Birding ID Library: Eastern Screech Owls. http://www.fifthdaycreations.com/article/screech.asp

Ford, Norman L., 1966. Fossil Owls From the Rexroad Fauna of the Upper Pliocene in Kansas. The Condor, 68: 472-475.

Johnson, David, 2003. Owls in the Fossil Record. The owl pages. http://www.owlpages.com/articles.php?section=Studies+and+Papers&title=Fossils

[edit] External links

fr:Otus ka:წყრომი lt:Apuokėliai tr:Cüce baykuş zh:角鸮属

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