Otus scops
Silhouette: Armelle Ansart (photograph), Maxime Dahirel (digitisation) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10%
The Eurasian scops owl (Otus scops), also known as the European scops owl, common scops owl or just scops owl, is a small owl in the typical owl family Strigidae. Its breeding range extends from southern Europe eastwards to southern Siberia and the western Himalayas. It is migratory, wintering in Africa south of the Sahara, although it is resident year-round in parts of Mediterranean Europe.
The Eurasian scops owl was formally described by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. Linnaeus cited the 1599 description by the Italian naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi, placed it with all the other owls in the genus Strix and coined the binomial name Strix scops. The Eurasian scops owl is now placed in the genus Otus that was introduced in 1769 by Welsh naturalist Thomas Pennant. The genus name is derived from the Latin otus meaning "eared owl". The specific epithet scops is from the Ancient Greek word skōps for a little eared owl. The term is believed to be of Pre-Greek origin; folk etymology links it to σκώπτω (skṓptō, "to mock") or σκέπτομαι (sképtomai, "to examine").
Five subspecies are recognised: Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 2 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 3 | Monfragüe National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 4 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 5 | Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 6 | Kiskunság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 7 | Picos de Europa National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 8 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barcelona Zoo | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 2 | Badoca Safari Park | 🇵🇹 Portugal | |
| 3 | Yaroslavl Zoo | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 4 | Kyiv Zoo | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | |
| 5 | Natur- und Tierpark Goldau | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | |
| 6 | Aquarama Barcelona | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 7 | Plock Zoo | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 8 | Tierpark Hexentanzplatz | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 9 | Zoopark Limpopo | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 10 | Odesa Zoo | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | |
| 11 | Small Breeds Farm Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 12 | Alpenzoo Innsbruck | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 13 | Zoo Koki (Parque zoológico y botánico) | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 14 | Centro Volo Rapaci | 🇮🇹 Italy | |
| 15 | Donjon des aigles | 🇫🇷 France |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Eurasian Scops Owl sighting in Sierra Nevada National Park on a given day, based on 41 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 124th most-seen of the 153 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Eurasian Scops Owl in Sierra Nevada National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August to June, the lowest months. That is one of Sierra Nevada National Park's driest months, with about 30 mm of rain against 130 mm in March.
Between 9 pm and midnight
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Eurasian Scops Owl sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is mostly seen at night.
Among the best
Of the 8 parks where we can rate Eurasian Scops Owl sightings, Sierra Nevada National Park ranks 4th at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Cévennes National Park (France, under 5%), Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (Spain, under 5%) and Monfragüe National Park (Spain, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Eurasian Scops Owl is recorded against all the birds logged in Sierra Nevada National Park (41 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.
