African Scops-Owl ( Otus senegalensis, family: strigidae)

Birds & Birding in the Kruger National Park South Africa. In Roberts 6 this bird was called African Scops Owl

african scops owl kruger national park birds The African Scops-Owl (Latin name Otus senegalensis) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 396 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 253 also a picture of the African Scops-Owl on page 272. The African Scops-Owl belongs to the family of birds classified as strigidae. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology the African Scops-Owl is also known by these other names: Scops Owl, Common Scops-Owl, Scops+G296 Owlet.

In the previous edition of Roberts (ie 6th edition) the African Scops-Owl was called the African Scops Owl

The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps

The African Scops-Owl is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park. It is however a common resident

In terms of distribution of the African Scops-Owl in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. African Scops-Owl : see above distribution map.

African Scops Owl Kruger ParkIdentification assistance for this avian species ...

One of the first indicators to take note of when trying to identify a bird is it relative size. For example how big is the bird compared to a well known familiar bird. The African Scops-Owl is a small bird about the size of a house sparrow. Do not take this relative indicator as anything other than a rough easy to remember indicator. It is not a accurate visualization. The height of the African Scops-Owl is about 18 cms and its weight is about 65 gms

The male and female African Scops-Owl have the same plumage and colours

  • Head is grey.
  • Eye is yellow.
  • Bill is black.
  • Throat is white.
  • Back is grey.
  • Legs are brown.

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The African Scops-Owl feeds on wing mainly

Smaller animals

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The African Scops-Owl is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Otus senegalensis will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of African Scops-Owl is to create the nest in a hole in a tree trunk. The bird lays eggs which are white in colour and number between 2 to 4

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for African Scops-Owl are: grasslands

You will normally see the African Scops-Owl by itself rather than in the company of birds of the same species.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Unknown

Zulu ... Unknown

Afrikaans ...Skopsuil

German ... Afrikanische Zwergohreule

Portuguese ... Mocho-de-orelhas-africano

French ... Petit-duc africain

Dutch ... Afrikaanse Dwergooruil

First bird in list | Previous bird viewed | Next KNP bird | Last bird in list

For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...

Robert's 7th edition number ... 396

The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za