In sonagrams, this corresponds to a rapid initial descent in Scops the notes appear L-shaped. If in doubt, one of the most reliable things to listen for is an initial t- sound in Scops, as opposed to a softer p- in Pygmy. However, the individual notes are lower-pitched and more modulated than those of Pygmy, and the gaps between them are longer (Lindén 2013). Hooting Eurasian Scops Owls can sound quite similar to Eurasian Pygmy Owls Glaucidium passerinum. Three of the four males converge around the same pitch, a slightly sharp E for a musician or 1333 Hz for a scientist. There is little to inhibit the four singers in CD2-12, or to distract me from listening to them. Three other owl species are quiet, including two – Eurasian Eagle-Owl Bubo bubo and Tawny Owl Strix aluco – that are sworn enemies of Scops (Mikkola 1983). Now and then a distant dog barks or a feral pig squeals. Cicada orni’s camouflage against the tree bark is every bit as good as a scops owl’s, but ‘singing’ loudly in the afternoon makes it much easier to find.Īfter dark, up to five male Eurasian Scops Owls call at once, accompanied by crickets and the occasional Southern Tree Frog Hyla meridionalis. After climbing to inspect a few holes, which I can discount due to the presence of spider webs, I usually end up playing ‘spot the cicada’. Arriving in the heat of the afternoon, I spend an hour or two searching the scattered Holm Oaks Quercus ilex for roosting owls and nests. It is a pleasant place to be, especially during the coolness of the night. One of my Eurasian Scops Owl sites is a small, secluded valley only 18 km from the busy Algarve coast of Portugal. In all but the warmest pockets of their breeding range they are obliged to migrate south to winter in the tropics. In summer they can count on a steady food supply, not fluctuating from year to year. A diet of large insects precludes them from breeding in northern Europe. There they reach higher breeding densities than any other Western Palearctic owl. Mediterranean summer nights would not be the same without their musical toot, roughly every three seconds. They are also tiny, no larger than a Common Starling Sturnus vulgaris. When roosting, their ‘ears’ break up an otherwise rounded profile and their cryptic plumage makes them look like a bark-covered stump. By night they tantalise me with their obvious presence by day they vanish into thin air. © 2015 Tune In to Nature.Over the last five summers I have spent far too many hours under the spell of Eurasian Scops Owls Otus scops. KellerīirdNote's theme music was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler No matter what accounts for the Barred Owl’s dramatic sweep across the continent, the bird – and its extraordinary voice – seem here to stay.Ĭall of the Barred Owl provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Orni-thology, Ithaca, New York. But new riparian forests, fire suppression, and the planting of shelter-belts in the northern Great Plains are some of the human impacts that have likely played a role. The exact reasons behind the expansion aren't certain.
During the 20th Century, its breeding range has expanded into the North and the West, and down as far as northern California. Their signature hooting sequence has been memorably described as “who-cooks-for-you?! who-cooks-for-you-all?!”īut this is just one of more than a dozen Barred Owl calls, ranging from a “siren call” to a “wail” to a wonderfully entertaining “monkey call.”Īlthough the Barred Owl’s calls have long been heard in Eastern forests, it is a relative newcomer to the western US. So-called for the stripes on their breast, Barred Owls are among the largest owls in North America. The emphatic hoots of a pair of Barred Owls resonate in the still of a February night.
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