Ninox scutulata
Silhouette: Rachel T Mason · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The brown boobook (Ninox scutulata), also known as the brown hawk-owl, is a typical owl species. It has dark brown upperparts, whitish underparts with reddish-brown streaking, and a barred tail. It is a resident breeder in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, southern China and western Indonesia.
The brown boobook was formally described in 1822 by Stamford Raffles from a specimen collected in Sumatra under the binomial name Strix scutulata. The specific epithet is from Latin scutulatus meaning "diamond-shaped". The brown boobook is now placed with the other boobooks in the genus Ninox that was introduced by Brian Houghton Hodgson in 1837.
Nine subspecies are recognised: N. s. burmanica Hume, 1876in northeast India to south China, Indochina and Thailand Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Way Kambas National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 2 | Periyar National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Cat Tien National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 4 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 5 | Kanha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Khao Yai National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 7 | Manas National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Namdapha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Chitwan National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 10 | Taman Negara National Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 11 | Sepilok | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 12 | Cuc Phuong National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 13 | Jim Corbett National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 14 | Royal Manas National Park | 🇧🇹 Bhutan | |
| 15 | Sinharaja Forest Reserve | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 16 | Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 17 | Royal Bardia National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 18 | Doi Inthanon National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 19 | Kaziranga National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 20 | Wilpattu National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 21 | Danum Valley Conservation Area | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 22 | Nagarhole National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 23 | Khao Luang National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 24 | Keoladeo National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 25 | Bandipur National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kollam | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Savar | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | |
| 3 | Bangkok | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 4 | Thiruvananthapuram | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Dehradun | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Dhaka | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | |
| 7 | Jaipur | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Jabalpur | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 10 | Thrissur | 🇮🇳 India |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Brown Boobook sighting in Sinharaja Forest Reserve on a given day, based on 48 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 113th most-seen of the 156 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.
February and March
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Brown Boobook in Sinharaja Forest Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in April to January, the lowest months. Those are among Sinharaja Forest Reserve's driest months, with about 150 mm of rain a month against 490 mm in November.
Between 3 and 6 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Brown Boobook sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
15th of 25
Of the 25 parks where we can rate Brown Boobook sightings, Sinharaja Forest Reserve ranks 15th at under 5%. The best odds are in Way Kambas National Park (Indonesia, about 30%), Periyar National Park (India, about 20%) and Cat Tien National Park (Vietnam, about 10%).
Same family: Strigidae
The closest relatives of the Brown Boobook that you can see in Sinharaja Forest Reserve (family Strigidae, Typical Owls) are Chestnut-backed Owlet (about 30%) and Serendib Scops Owl (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Brown Boobook is recorded against all the birds logged in Sinharaja Forest Reserve (48 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.
