Ptilopsis leucotis
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
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 Niokolo-Koba National Park on a given day, based on 28 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 147th most-seen of the 215 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August and December–February
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Northern White-faced Owl in Niokolo-Koba National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March–April, September and November, the lowest months. May–July and October have too few records to rate.
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 3 parks where we can rate Northern White-faced Owl sightings, Niokolo-Koba National Park has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Murchison Falls National Park (Uganda, under 5%) and Samburu National Reserve (Kenya, under 5%).
Same family: Strigidae
The closest relatives of the Northern White-faced Owl that you can see in Niokolo-Koba National Park (family Strigidae, Typical Owls) are Pearl-spotted Owlet (about 40%), African Scops-Owl (about 20%) and Pel's Fishing-Owl (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Northern White-faced Owl is recorded against all the birds logged in Niokolo-Koba National Park (28 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.
