Mountain Scops Owl
Photo © Rejoice Gassah
Photo © Rejoice Gassah — CC BY 4.0 — Source: iNaturalist #234838891The mountain scops owl (Otus spilocephalus), sometimes referred to as the spotted scops owl, is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. Its range extends across much of south and southeast Asia, from Pakistan and the Himalayas in the northwest, through Taiwan, Thailand and Malaysia in the east and south. The nominate subspecies of the eastern Himalayas has a distinct more russet plumage. It is an altitudinal migrant. The owls have a short high-pitched call like a two-note whistle, "plew-plew" or "he-he", although the female's songs are rarely heard. Their calls also differ between geographic population.
Langtang National Park
Helambu, Nepal
+364 birds+14 mammals
Where the southern slopes of the Himalayan highlands descend toward the subtropical valleys of central Nepal, Langtang National Park sprawls across one of the subcontinent's most…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKKhangchendzonga National Park
Sakkyong, India
+290 birds+1 mammals
Where the eastern Himalayas surge toward their crowning peaks, Khangchendzonga National Park embraces a landscape of almost overwhelming vertical drama. Rising from subtropical river valleys into…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKPhou Khao Khouay National Protected Area
Thaphabath District, Thailand
+113 birds
Where the Annamite Mountains descend into central Thailand's monsoon forests, Phou Khao Khouay National Protected Area sprawls across rugged limestone terrain interlaced with river valleys and…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKKhao Yai National Park
Prachantakham District, Thailand
+377 birds+46 mammals
Evergreen dipterocarp forest blankets the rolling terrain of this national park in eastern Thailand, where limestone hills rise abruptly from the forest floor and seasonal streams…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKMount Nanling Forest Park
Ruyang Forest Farm, China
+179 birds+3 mammals
Granite ridges and weathered peaks rise through a canopy of subtropical montane forest where Ruyang Forest Farm anchors one of southern China's most biodiverse landscapes. Across…
VIEW FOREST & JUNGLENanda Devi National Park
Garpak, India
+218 birds+5 mammals
Where the Himalayas surge into their most dramatic alpine amphitheater, a wilderness of raw geological power unfolds across 624 square kilometers of pristine terrain. Nanda Devi,…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKGunung Mulu National Park
Long Seridan, Malaysia
+280 birds+39 mammals
Where granite monoliths pierce the rainforest canopy of Sarawak, an ancient limestone karst landscape reveals one of Southeast Asia's most biodiverse strongholds. Soaring peaks cloaked in…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKKerinci Seblat National Park
Kerinci, Indonesia
+228 birds+16 mammals
Across nearly 67,000 square kilometres of Sumatra's spine, a mountainous realm of equatorial rainforest rises from steaming lowlands to volcanic peaks shrouded in cloud. Kerinci Seblat…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKHainan Tropical Rainforest National Park
Haikou, China
+69 birds+1 mammals
Tropical forests blanket the volcanic slopes of central Hainan, where moisture-laden winds from the South China Sea collide with mountainous terrain to create some of China's…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKXishuangbanna National Nature Reserve
Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, China
+173 birds+2 mammals
Where subtropical monsoon forests meet the margins of the Yunnan plateau, Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve sprawls across a landscape of dramatic relief—deep river valleys carved by…
VIEW NATURE RESERVEGaoligong Mountain National Nature Reserve
Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture, China
+443 birds+13 mammals
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