Otus senegalensis
Silhouette: Armelle Ansart (photograph), Maxime Dahirel (digitisation) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The African scops owl (Otus senegalensis) is a small owl which is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa. The African scops owl was formally described in 1837 by the English zoologist William Swainson as Otus senegalensis based on a specimen collected in Senegal. The species is now one of 58 scops owls placed in the genus Otus.
Three subspecies are recognised: The subspecies O. s. feae has sometimes been recognised as a separate species, the Annobón scops owl. When describing the species in 1903, the Italian ornithologist Tommaso Salvadori noted that the birds were abundant in wooded areas at altitudes of 400–500 metres on the island. Few sightings of the bird have been reported since then.
The African scops owl is a small owl, measuring 17 cm (6.7 in) in length. It is typically greyish-brown, though sometimes pale rufous or warmer brown, and is cryptically marked with streaks and mottling. Its grey facial disk... Wikipedia →
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an African Scops-Owl sighting in Lower Zambezi National Park on a given day, based on 34 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 135th most-seen of the 241 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report an African Scops-Owl in Lower Zambezi National Park on a given day, against under 5% in October and November, the lowest months. That is one of Lower Zambezi National Park's driest months, with almost no rain against 290 mm in January. February and March have too few records to rate.
Between 6 and 9 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most African Scops-Owl sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
7th of 28
Of the 28 parks where we can rate African Scops-Owl sightings, Lower Zambezi National Park ranks 7th at about 10%. The best odds are in Gonarezhou National Park (Zimbabwe, about 30%), Tarangire National Park (Tanzania, about 20%) and Ruaha National Park (Tanzania, about 20%).
Same family: Strigidae
The closest relatives of the African Scops-Owl that you can see in Lower Zambezi National Park (family Strigidae, Typical Owls) are Verreaux's Eagle-Owl (about 10%), African Wood-Owl (about 10%) and Pearl-spotted Owlet (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the African Scops-Owl is recorded against all the birds logged in Lower Zambezi National Park (34 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.
