Otus semitorques
Silhouette: Armelle Ansart (photograph), Maxime Dahirel (digitisation) · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The Japanese scops-owl (Otus semitorques) is a small owl species in the family Strigidae, or true owl family. It is a member of the genus Otus, the scops owl genus. It is resident to Japan, China, Korea, and Russia. Japanese scops-owls have a grey-brown plumage, red eyes, and prominent ear tufts. They resides in forests, woodlands, and mountains. They are carnivorous, mainly feeding on invertebrates and small rodents. They nest in tree hollows and raise a small brood. Males use their vocalizations to attract mates or deter predators.
The Japanese scops-owl was first classified by Temminck and Schlegel in 1845. It is part of the family Strigidae, the true owl family, which contains 90% of all owl species. The other 10% of owls are part of the family Tytonidae, the barn owl family. The Japanese scops-owl is part of the genus Otus which is the largest genus of owls. This genus includes 59 species of scops-owls found throughout Afro-Eurasia. The genus Otus was first introduced by Thomas Pennant in 1769 with the discovery of the Indian scops-owl. The Japanese scops-owl is closely related to the Indian scops-owl (O. bakkamoena) and was once thought to be the same species. It... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beijing | 🇨🇳 China |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ueno Zoo | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 2 | Inokashira Park Zoo | 🇯🇵 Japan |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Japanese Scops-Owl sighting in Beijing on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 324th most-seen of the 324 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Japanese Scops-Owl in Beijing on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 7 and 10 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Japanese Scops-Owl sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
Only Beijing, in our data
Beijing is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Japanese Scops-Owl sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Japanese Scops-Owl is recorded against all the birds logged in Beijing (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.
