Common Name: White-faced Scops Owl Scientific Name: Otus leucotis
LEAST CONCERN
Distribution: Africa
The white-faced Scops Owl is a small owl with a white facial disc bordered with a black line. The eyes are orange. The under side of the bird is white to grey in colour with small speckling and vertical black streaks. The upper side is darker in colour with the same pattern of spots and streaks. The owl has large ear tufts and a horn coloured bill. The species measures 19 – 24 cm and have a wing length of around 18 cm.
Habitat: Varied
The owl is found in Africa, south of the Sahara where it occupies savannahs, scrub, bush Acacia forest and woodland with sparse ground cover.
White-faced Scops Owl
Height: 19 - 24cm Weight: 185 - 220g Diet: Carnivorous
The species is mainly insectivorous, but will also take small birds, rodents and other small mammals. The nest may be built in the abandoned nests of other birds, in a tree hole or even on the ground. The female lays 2 – 4 eggs which are incubated for 30 days. The chicks move out of the nest after 4 weeks and once out of the nest begin to fly soon after.