Luzon scops owl
species of bird
The Luzon scops owl (Otus longicornis) or the Luzon highland scops owl is a species of scops owl endemic to Luzon, Philippines. Not to be confused with the Philippine scops owl (Otus megalotis), sometimes referred to as the Luzon lowland scops owl, which is a more common species that shares the same range. The Luzon scops owl, however, is smaller and inhabits higher altitudes than its lowland relative.
Description
The Luzon scops owl is relatively small even among species of scops owls endemic to the Philippines. It has a body length of 18 to 19 cm with a wing length of 13.6 to 15.3 cm. Their large eyes have bright yellow irises, and their beaks are small and slender. Their tarsi are feathered, but only until about halfway through its length and they are equipped with long, sharp claws, typical of birds of prey. Characteristic of scops owls, this species has long ear tufts and an overall dark brown and rufous plumage. Horizontal dark bars irregularly streak across most of its feathers. Areas along its breast, collar and facial disc are speckled white, giving its face the appearance of having white eyebrows.
“Luzon scops owl” enters the record as species of bird. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Luzon, scops and species can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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“Luzon scops owl” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Luzon, scops and species provides the most credible route into that argument.
Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Oct 3, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q1268960. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Luzon 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.