Otus senegalensis
Silhouette: Armelle Ansart (photograph), Maxime Dahirel (digitisation) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
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 →
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an African Scops-Owl sighting in South Luangwa National Park on a given day, based on 31 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 167th most-seen of the 257 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May, August and December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an African Scops-Owl in South Luangwa National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January–April, June–July and September–November, the lowest months.
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.
16th of 28
Of the 28 parks where we can rate African Scops-Owl sightings, South Luangwa National Park ranks 16th at under 5%. 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 South Luangwa National Park (family Strigidae, Typical Owls) are Verreaux's Eagle-Owl (about 10%), Pel's Fishing-Owl (about 10%) and African Wood-Owl (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 South Luangwa National Park (31 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.
