Otus spilocephalus
Silhouette: Armelle Ansart (photograph), Maxime Dahirel (digitisation) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
The mountain scops owl (Otus spilocephalus), sometimes referred to as the spotted scops owl, is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. Its range extends across much of south and southeast Asia, from Pakistan and the Himalayas in the northwest, through Taiwan, Thailand and Malaysia in the east and south.
The nominate subspecies of the eastern Himalayas has a distinct more russet plumage. It is an altitudinal migrant. The owls have a short high-pitched call like a two-note whistle, "plew-plew" or "he-he", although the female's songs are rarely heard. Their calls also differ between geographic population.
BirdLife Species Factsheet http://www.owlpages.com/owls.php?genus=Otus&species=spilocephalus "Otus spilocephalus media". Internet Bird Collection. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cuc Phuong National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 2 | Taroko National Park | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 3 | Kinabalu Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 4 | Namdapha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Kerinci Seblat National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 6 | Langtang National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 7 | Royal Manas National Park | 🇧🇹 Bhutan | |
| 8 | Doi Inthanon National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 9 | Khao Yai National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 10 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taipei | 🇹🇼 Taiwan |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fonghuanggu Bird and Ecology Park | 🇹🇼 Taiwan |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Mountain Scops-Owl sighting in Kinabalu Park on a given day, based on 148 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 87th most-seen of the 247 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January, March–May and October–November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Mountain Scops-Owl in Kinabalu Park on a given day, against under 5% in February, June–September and December, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Mountain Scops-Owl sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is mostly seen at night.
Among the best
Of the 10 parks where we can rate Mountain Scops-Owl sightings, Kinabalu Park ranks 3rd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Cuc Phuong National Park (Vietnam, about 10%) and Taroko National Park (Taiwan, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Mountain Scops-Owl is recorded against all the birds logged in Kinabalu Park (148 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
