Ptilopsis leucotis
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The northern white-faced owl (Ptilopsis leucotis) is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. The southern white-faced owl (P. granti) was formerly included in this species and the two were known as the white-faced scops-owl.
It is found in a band across Africa between the Sahara and the Equator. It occurs in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo and Uganda.
This owl has a rather notable defense mechanism. When faced with a similar-sized predator (like another owl slightly larger than it), the bird flares its wings to appear larger. When faced with something much larger than itself (such as an eagle), it pulls its feathers inwards, elongates its body, and narrows its eyes to thin slits. It is thought that it uses this ability to camouflage itself, and it shares the ability with relatives like the African scops owl.
Many different types of owls have some ability to adopt a "concealing posture", also known by the German word Tarnstellung... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Niokolo-Koba National Park | 🇸🇳 Senegal | |
| 2 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 3 | Samburu National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Serrekunda | 🇬🇲 Gambia | |
| 2 | Accra | 🇬🇭 Ghana |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Philadelphia Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Birdland Park and Gardens | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 3 | Cim d'Àligues | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 4 | Prospect Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Zoo Lagos | 🇵🇹 Portugal | |
| 6 | Parc Animalier de Serre-Ponçon | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 7 | DMM Kariyushi Aquarium | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 8 | Bed-Stuy Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Hillerød Mini Zoo | 🇩🇰 Denmark |
No species of the same family or order lives in Accra, so these are its closest relatives here: other birds.
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Northern White-faced Owl sighting in Accra on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 144th most-seen of the 162 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Northern White-faced Owl in Accra on a given day, against under 5% in December to October, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Northern White-faced Owl sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 cities where we can rate Northern White-faced Owl sightings, Accra ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Serrekunda (Gambia, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Northern White-faced Owl is recorded against all the birds logged in Accra (6 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
