Eurasian Scops Owl

Eurasian Scops Owl

Otus scops

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered
Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
at Plitvice Lakes National Park
1 Verified sightings at Plitvice Lakes National Park From 2019 to 2026
986 Verified sightings across all 19 parks From 2019 to 2026
🌙 Nocturnal When it's spotted during nighttime hours (6pm–6am)

About the Eurasian Scops Owl

The Eurasian scops owl (Otus scops), also known as the European scops owl, common scops owl or just scops owl, is a small owl in the typical owl family Strigidae. Its breeding range extends from southern Europe eastwards to southern Siberia and the western Himalayas. It is migratory, wintering in Africa south of the Sahara, although it is resident year-round in parts of Mediterranean Europe.

The Eurasian scops owl was formally described by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. Linnaeus cited the 1599 description by the Italian naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi, placed it with all the other owls in the genus Strix and coined the binomial name Strix scops. The Eurasian scops owl is now placed in the genus Otus that was introduced in 1769 by Welsh naturalist Thomas Pennant. The genus name is derived from the Latin otus meaning "eared owl". The specific epithet scops is from the Ancient Greek word skōps for a little eared owl. The term is believed to be of Pre-Greek origin; folk etymology links it to σκώπτω (skṓptō, "to mock") or σκέπτομαι (sképtomai, "to examine").

Five subspecies are recognised: O. s. scops (Linnaeus, 1758) –... Wikipedia →

Closest Relatives at Plitvice Lakes National Park

Ural Owl
LC

Ural Owl

Bird

Strix uralensis

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
Long-eared Owl
LC

Long-eared Owl

☀️🌙 Day & Night Bird

Asio otus

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
Tawny Owl
LC

Tawny Owl

Bird

Strix aluco

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
Boreal Owl
LC

Boreal Owl

☀️🌙 Day & Night Bird

Aegolius funereus

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
Eurasian Pygmy-Owl
LC

Eurasian Pygmy-Owl

Bird

Glaucidium passerinum

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Global Distribution

Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.

where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is)  ·  parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Cévennes National Park 🇫🇷 France
~10%
2 Sierra de Guadarrama National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
<5%
3 Monfragüe National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
<5%
4 Sierra Nevada National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
<5%
5 Pyrénées National Park 🇫🇷 France
<5%
6 Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
<5%
7 Kiskunság National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
<5%
8 Hortobágy National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
<5%
9 Aigüestortes National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
<5%
10 Picos de Europa National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
<5%
11 Plitvice Lakes National Park 🇭🇷 Croatia
Insufficient data
12 Mercantour National Park 🇫🇷 France
Insufficient data
13 Vanoise National Park 🇫🇷 France
Insufficient data
14 Ecrins National Park 🇫🇷 France
Insufficient data
15 Triglav National Park 🇸🇮 Slovenia
Insufficient data
16 Tsavo West National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
Insufficient data
17 Doñana National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
Insufficient data
18 Fertő-Hanság National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
Insufficient data
19 Tsavo East National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
Insufficient data
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