Ptilopsis leucotis
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
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 |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Northern White-faced Owl sighting in Serrekunda on a given day, based on 84 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 92nd most-seen of the 213 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Northern White-faced Owl in Serrekunda on a given day, against under 5% in June and August–November, the lowest months. That is one of Serrekunda's driest months, with almost no rain against 290 mm in August.
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.
Yes
Of the 2 cities where we can rate Northern White-faced Owl sightings, Serrekunda has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Accra (Ghana, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Northern White-faced Owl is recorded against all the birds logged in Serrekunda (84 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.
