Typical Owls (Strigidae)
Japanese Scops-owl (Otus semitorques) - HBW 5, p. 158
French: Petit-duc du Japon
German: Japan-Zwergohreule
Spanish: Autillo Japonés
Taxonomy: Otus semitorques Temminck and Schlegel, 1844, Kyushu, Japan.
Probably forms superspecies with O. mentawi, O. bakkamoena, O. lettia, O. lempiji, O. fuliginosus and O. megalotis. Formerly treated as subspecies of highly variable O. bakkamoena, but significant differences in vocalizations, as well in eye colour, indicate separate species. Sometimes considered to include race ussuriensis of O. lettia, which closer to present species in voice and plumage characters, and also intermediate in eye colour; possibly better included as race of present species. Two subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution:
- semitorques Temminck & Schlegel, 1844 - S Kuril Is (Urup S to Kunashir), and Hokkaido S to Yakushima, including Sado, Tsushima, Goto Is and Yakushima.
- pryeri (Gurney, 1889) - S Izu Is (Hachijo) and S Ryukyu Is (Okinawa to Iriomote).
- Least Concern Enlarge map
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A bird roosting at day time. Locality Inogashira Park Zoo, Tokyo, Honshu, Japan (ssp semitorques)
Josep del Hoyo 12 February 2010 1 year ago 28 sec 2.3
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A bird roosting.
Locality Inogashira Park Zoo, Tokyo, Honshu, Japan (ssp semitorques)
Josep del Hoyo 12 February 2010 1 year ago 2
- No sound recordings available yet
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