The European scops owl (Otus scops) is a migrant and one of the smallest species of the group of Stigidae. Its name comes from the words otus that means ears (because of the existence of two raised tufts) and scops that is a refference to its enduring and insistent gaze.
Its main characteristics are the light plumage whose color varies from reddish brown to grey and the yellow or orange color in its iris-eye. This species is nocturnal with a profile of activity in two stages. The maximum point of its activity is reached before midnight and usually, between midnight and two there is a point of rest.
This owl shelters in punch holes but also in tree brunches, in abandoned nests of other birds. It is mainly fed with insects but sometimes catches reptiles and small mammals. The technique that uses to hunt and attack some birds, is not known yet.
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Notes
BirdLife International 2004. Otus scops. In: IUCN 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Versione 2010.1
Chiavetta, M. 1988. Guida ai rapaci notturni. Strigiformi d’Europa, Nord Africa e Medio Oriente. Zanichelli, Bologna, 184 pp.