Otus sunia
Silhouette: Armelle Ansart (photograph), Maxime Dahirel (digitisation) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The oriental scops owl (Otus sunia) is a scops owl species native to South and Southeast Asia. The oriental scops owl is a small, variably plumaged, yellow-eyed owl with ear-tufts which are not always erect. It can be distinguished from the collared scops owl by its whitish scapular stripe, well-marked underparts, and lack of pale collar. There are two colour morphs, grey and rufous; intermediate forms also occur. Sexes are similar in appearance. Individuals may freeze with eyes half-closed when disturbed. The species has a repeated liquid call sounding like "tuk tok torok". Adults have higher-pitched calls than juveniles.
The oriental scops owl has an extremely wide distribution across eastern and southern Asia and inhabits dry deciduous forests from Russia to Thailand. The owl nests in holes in trees, especially Mahua trees, during February to April. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Periyar National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Mudumalai National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Kanha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Minneriya National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 5 | Royal Bardia National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 6 | Manas National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Nagarhole National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Doi Inthanon National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 9 | Satpura National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Bandipur National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 11 | Namdapha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 12 | Sundarbans National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 13 | Ranthambore National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 14 | Chitwan National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 15 | Cat Tien National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 16 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 17 | Keoladeo National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 18 | Khao Yai National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 19 | Bandhavgarh National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 20 | Jim Corbett National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Oriental Scops Owl sighting in Royal Bardia National Park on a given day, based on 14 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 182nd most-seen of the 233 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March and April
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an Oriental Scops Owl in Royal Bardia National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May–July and September–February, the lowest months. Those are among Royal Bardia National Park's driest months, with about 25 mm of rain a month against 590 mm in July. August has too few records to rate.
Between 3 and 6 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Oriental Scops Owl sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
5th of 20
Of the 20 parks where we can rate Oriental Scops Owl sightings, Royal Bardia National Park ranks 5th at under 5%. The best odds are in Periyar National Park (India, about 10%), Mudumalai National Park (India, about 10%) and Kanha National Park (India, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Oriental Scops Owl is recorded against all the birds logged in Royal Bardia National Park (14 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.
