Giant scops owl
species of bird
The giant scops owl (Otus gurneyi), lesser eagle owl, Mindanao eagle owl or Mindanao owl, is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is endemic to the Philippines, found on Mindanao, the Dinagat Islands, Siargao and Samar. In size and structure, it is considered intermediate between a scops owl and an eagle-owl. Its natural habitat is tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Description
The giant scops owl is a medium-sized bird with a length of about 30 cm (12 in). It has a reddish-brown facial disc with a narrow black edge, white streaks above the eyes and prominent ear tufts. The back of the head and the upperparts of the body are reddish-brown boldly marked with black streaks and with a line of white streaks on the scapulars. The underparts are whitish with traces of reddish-brown and bold black markings. The voice is a series of five to ten calls, "wuaah, wuaah..." with the series repeated at ten to twenty second intervals.
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The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 31, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1273551. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Giant scops owl” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.