Japanese Scops Owl

Japanese Scops Owl (Otus semitorques) is a small grey-brown owl with prominent ear tufts, red eyes and finely patterned plumage that blends with tree bark. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct field comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It inhabits Japanese forests, woodlands and mountains, feeding mainly on invertebrates and small rodents and nesting in natural tree hollows; males advertise territories with repeated calls. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. Japanese records place it within the country's documented avifauna as a resident, migrant or visitor (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records).