Sunda Scops-Owl

Sunda Scops-Owl

Otus lempiji

Silhouette: Armelle Ansart (photograph), Maxime Dahirel (digitisation) · PhyloPic

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Kinabalu Park
9 Verified sightings at Kinabalu Park From 2019 to 2026
166 Verified sightings across all 9 parks From 2019 to 2026
August Best month highest sighting rate
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

About the Sunda Scops-Owl

The Sunda scops owl (Otus lempiji) is a small brown owl native to the Sunda Islands. The taxon is considered a subspecies of O. bakkamoena by some authors. It grows from 20 to 25 cm (7.9 to 9.8 in) and can weigh 100 to 170 g (3.5 to 6.0 oz). It is speckled with black on the upper parts and streaked with black on the lower parts. It has a light collar and dark eyes, which differentiate it from the reddish scops, mountain scops, Oriental scops and Rajah scops owls.

It lives on the Malay Peninsula, Singapore, Borneo, Sumatra and Java. It can be found primarily in forests and gardens but is occasionally attracted to buildings. The diet of the Sunda scops owl mainly consists of insects, as well as small animals. Some examples of the prey they hunt are rats, small fish, lizards, crickets, and beetles’ larvae. However, their most preferred prey are rats.

It has been included in the IUCN Red List of threatened species as a least concern species. It is common throughout its range where there is suitable habitat. The Sunda scops owl lines its nest with plant fibre. It... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Way Kambas National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~50%
2 Gunung Leuser National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~10%
3 Sepilok 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%
4 Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%
5 Kinabalu Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%
6 Bali Barat National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
Insufficient data
7 Kerinci Seblat National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
Insufficient data
8 Bako National Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia
Insufficient data
9 Danum Valley Conservation Area 🇲🇾 Malaysia
Insufficient data

Quick answers

What are the chances of seeing a Sunda Scops-Owl in Kinabalu Park?

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Sunda Scops-Owl sighting in Kinabalu Park, based on 9 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.

When is the best time to see Sunda Scops-Owl in Kinabalu Park?

August has the highest sighting rate for Sunda Scops-Owl in Kinabalu Park in our monthly data.

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