Otus rufescens
Silhouette: Armelle Ansart (photograph), Maxime Dahirel (digitisation) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The reddish scops owl (Otus rufescens) is an owl found in southeast Asia, in the countries of Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei. The reddish scops owl measures 15-18 cm in length and has a body mass of 70-83 g. Body is generally a red-brown, with paler face and ear tufts. Displays black spotting across chest, and white spotting along back and wings; juveniles appear similar to adult individuals, but with less spotting.
The call of the owl is a whistling “hooo," which is repeated in 7-11 second intervals. The calls of this species are able to be reliably sexed, with males having a higher pitched call than females. The reddish scops owl was first described by Thomas Horsfield in 1821 under the binomial Strix rufescens.
O. r. rufescens The reddish scops owl lives in lowland regions including rainforests and swamps. The owl does not migrate, and primarily inhabits a home range of 1.31–2.16 hectares. The reddish scops owl is evaluated by the IUCN as near threatened, and its population is believed to be decreasing. The primary threat to these birds is habitat... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Way Kambas National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 2 | Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 3 | Danum Valley Conservation Area | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 4 | Taman Negara National Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 5 | Sepilok | 🇲🇾 Malaysia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Reddish Scops-Owl sighting in Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary on a given day, based on 94 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 105th most-seen of the 231 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February–March, June, August and December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Reddish Scops-Owl in Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary on a given day, against under 5% in January, April–May, July and September–November, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Reddish 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.
2nd of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Reddish Scops-Owl sightings, Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Way Kambas National Park (Indonesia, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Reddish Scops-Owl is recorded against all the birds logged in Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary (94 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.
