Biology
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Like most other owls, the Sokoke scops-owl is nocturnal, and is also sometimes active around dawn and dusk (2). The majority of the Sokoke scops-owl's diet consists of insects, such as beetles and crickets, and it often sits on a perch, three or four meters off the ground, and then drops from a stationary position down onto its prey (2) (4). During the day it roosts in thickets, with its body compressed, ears erect and eyes drawn closed to slits (4). There is nothing known about the breeding behaviour of this owl, but it is thought that it may nest in natural cavities in large or old Brachylaena trees (2).
Conservation
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The Sokoke scops-owl is listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which means that any trade in this species should be carefully regulated (3). It has been the focus of a number of surveys (4) (7), and there are also measures in place in both parts of its range to conserve critical habitat. The Arabuko-Sokoke forest was established as a reserve in 1943, and contains two nature reserves within it (8). The Arabuko-Sokoke Forest Management Team has developed a Strategic Forest Management Plan, which aims to have an intact and fully functioning forest ecosystem with no reduction in the existing forest area by 2027 (5). In the East Usambaras, the Tanzania Forest Conservation Group has been promoting conservation since 1993. The project has assisted villagers to plant over one million trees, establish three village forest reserves, and have a greater understanding of forest conservation (9).
Description
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This tiny owl, discovered as late as 1965 in the Arabuko-Sokoke forest in Kenya, occurs in three different morphs, or forms; dark brown, grey-brown or rufous plumage, heavily barred, streaked and spotted. The face is light rufous to brown and buff, with whitish or buffy eyebrows. The large, yellow eyes provide excellent eyesight for hunting at night. The Sokoke scops-owl has a soft too-too-too call, that is repeated around ten times a minute, and is most frequently heard just a couple of hours before dawn or after dusk (2).
Habitat
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The Sokoke scops-owl inhabits tropical forest, generally dominated by the tree species Cynometra and Brachylaena. In Arabuka-Sokoke it occurs from the lowlands up to 70 meters; in the Usambara Mountains it has been found between 200 and 400 meters (2).
Range
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Occurs in the Arabuku-Sokoke forest in south east Kenya, and in the East Usambara Mountains of north east Tanzania (2).
Status
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Classified as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List 2006 (1) and listed on Appendix II of CITES (3).
Threats
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The Arabuko-Sokoke forest has been overexploited during recent years by commercial logging. Commercial harvesting has not been regulated and, coupled with rampant, illegal exploitation, has contributed to forest degradation and loss of biodiversity (5). Within the Sokoke scops-owl's Tanzanian range, the mountains support a high human population density, which places enormous pressure on the land for subsistence agriculture. In the past, mechanical harvesting of timber caused much environmental damage, but that has now stopped and today most timber is extracted using pit-sawing techniques, where professional sawyers cut trees into planks on site, and walk out the forest with sawn timber. Whilst this is much less damaging, almost all of this harvesting is illegal. In addition, firewood harvesting is extensive throughout the mountains, and is particularly hard to regulate (6). The harvesting of particular tree species is likely to have a great impact on the Sokoke scops-owl as Brachylaena trees provide essential nesting sites, and Cynometra trees are important areas for roosting and foraging (4).
Comprehensive Description
provided by Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology
Otus ireneae Ripley
Mrs. Morden’s Owlet, recently described by the senior author (Ripley 1966), has previously been known only from the unique type. Three males recently obtained in the Sokoke Forest by Forbes-Watson and another male collected by Dr. Purvis L. Martin for the Los Angeles County Museum provide additional data on this rare owlet.
Two of the specimens collected by Forbes-Watson are indistinguishable from the type in their tawny grayish-brown coloration, but the third specimen is a clear bright rufous, both above and below, and has the belly and mantle sparsely sprinkled with small blackish spots.
The stomachs contained mostly fragments of medium-sized saltatorial Orthoptera, e.g., crickets, katydids, and a walkingstick. All of these insects are arboreal leaf-feeding types likely to occur in vegetation off the ground.
On a tape recording of the call of this owlet, Forbes-Watson provides the comment that the bird produces eight “toots” in five seconds, corresponding in pitch to B flat on the treble cleff.
Individual weights of three males were 46, 50, and 55 grams.
- bibliographic citation
- Ripley, S. Dillon and Bond, Gorman M. 1971. "Systematic notes on a collection of birds from Kenya." Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology. 1-21. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00810282.111
Sokoke scops owl
provided by wikipedia EN
The Sokoke scops owl (Otus ireneae) is a highly localized species of scops owl found in lowland forests of Kenya and Tanzania. The greatest population of this species of owl is in the Cynometra-Manilkara forest, which is less than one-third of the Sokoke Forest. It is also found in the Afzelia-Cynometra forest.
The Sokoke scops owl can grow to 6+1⁄2 in (17 cm), and can weigh up to 2 oz (57 g), and is the smallest of the scops owls. It is insectivorous and coloring ranges from grey to rufous.
Description
Sokoke scops owl pair in Arabuko-Sokoke Forest
Sokoke scops owl is a fairly plain scops owl with small spotted markings on the underside. They are found in a number of color morphs ranging from grey through brown to an orange-rufous. Their call consists of a repetitive "too-too-too-too-too" reminiscent of the calls of tinkerbirds. Males have a higher-pitched, louder and clearer call compared to females, which have a softer, muffled, low-pitched call.[3] They are territorial and pairs may duet in response to intruding conspecifics.[3] The calling intensity of spontaneously calling owls varies with the time of night and phase of the moon.[3]
Distribution
Sokoke scops owl have a highly restricted range in coastal Kenya and north-eastern Tanzania.[4] It was first discovered in 1965 in the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest Reserve in coastal Kenya.[3] Two other isolated populations have been subsequently discovered in the Dakatcha woodlands in Kenya and in the Manga and Kwamgumi forest reserves in the lowlands of the East Usambara mountains, Tanzania. Its global range is not thought to exceed 500 km2.[4] Other isolated populations of this species may still persist in unsurveyed patches of suitable habitat.
Habitat
Sokoke scops owl has very specific habitat requirements of undisturbed lowland forest.[4] In the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest Reserve, it only occurs in forest dominated by Brachylaena and Cynometra, despite the presence of other forest types.[4] It is thought that holes in Brachylaena trees provide suitable nesting sites for the owls[5] and their removal may be responsible for population declines.
Conservation
The IUCN places the Sokoke scops owl as globally Endangered on its Red List.[6] Its dependence on undisturbed forest means that it is threatened by human disturbance such as logging, fires and encroachment.[4] Suitable climatic conditions are predicted to shift southwards as the climate changes and be completely lost in the Usambaras by 2080.[4] The isolation of suitable forest patches that are surrounded by human-modified habitats means that they risk extinction.[4] Increasing populations of African elephants in the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest Reserve may also affect their populations through habitat degradation.[3] Habitat restoration and translocation to other suitable habitat patches have been suggested as potential conservation interventions that may help prevent their extinction.[4] Call surveys conducted in 2005 and 2008 in the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest Reserve place the population size of the reserve at 800 pairs.[3] Densities in 1997 in the East Usambaras ranged from less than 1.5 pairs/km2 to 3 or 4 pairs/km2, and the population is estimated to be markedly smaller than the Arabuko-Sokoke population.[7]
Behaviour
Like other Otus owls, they are strictly nocturnal, making their biology difficult to study.[8] They are most active immediately after dark and before dawn and travel further from their roost sites to forage when there is less illumination from the moon.[9] They roost in the dense understory of Cynometra trees during the day. The mean home-range of a pair is 11 ha and there is very little overlap with neighboring pairs.
Diet
Pellet samples show that they feed almost exclusively on medium-sized insects across a wide range of orders, with the predominant prey type likely dependent on availability at the time.[8] Beetles (Coleoptera) and crickets (Orthoptera) appear to be consumed the most.[8]
References
-
^ BirdLife International (2016). "Otus ireneae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22688565A93201000. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22688565A93201000.en. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
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^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
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^ a b c d e f Virani, Munir Z.; Njoroge, Peter; Gordon, Ian (2010-07-08). "Disconcerting trends in populations of the endangered Sokoke Scops OwlOtus ireneae in the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, Kenya". Ostrich. 81 (2): 155–158. doi:10.2989/00306525.2010.488429. ISSN 0030-6525. S2CID 54207275.
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^ a b c d e f g h Monadjem, Ara; Virani, Munir Z.; Jackson, Colin; Reside, April (June 2013). "Rapid decline and shift in the future distribution predicted for the endangered Sokoke Scops Owl Otus ireneae due to climate change". Bird Conservation International. 23 (2): 247–258. doi:10.1017/S0959270912000330. ISSN 0959-2709.
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^ A., Virani, Munir Z. (1994). Ecology of the endangered Sokoke scops owl (Otus ireneae). University of Leicester. OCLC 504820142.
-
^ "Sokoke Scops-owl (Otus ireneae) - BirdLife species factsheet". datazone.birdlife.org. Retrieved 2021-07-12.
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^ Evans, Tom (1997). "Preliminary estimates of the population density of the Sokoke scops owl Otus ireneae Ripley in the East Usambara lowlands, Tanzania". African Journal of Ecology. 35 (4): 303–311. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2028.1997.093-89093.x. ISSN 1365-2028.
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^ a b c Virani, Munir Z (2008). "Diet composition of Sokoke Scops Owl Otus ireneae in Arabuko-Sokoke Forest". Scopus. 27 (1): 6–9.
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^ Virani, Munir (January 2000). "Home range and movement patterns of Sokoke Scops Owl Otus ireneae". Ostrich. 71 (1–2): 139–142. doi:10.1080/00306525.2000.9639892. ISSN 0030-6525. S2CID 85429560.
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Sokoke scops owl: Brief Summary
provided by wikipedia EN
The Sokoke scops owl (Otus ireneae) is a highly localized species of scops owl found in lowland forests of Kenya and Tanzania. The greatest population of this species of owl is in the Cynometra-Manilkara forest, which is less than one-third of the Sokoke Forest. It is also found in the Afzelia-Cynometra forest.
The Sokoke scops owl can grow to 6+1⁄2 in (17 cm), and can weigh up to 2 oz (57 g), and is the smallest of the scops owls. It is insectivorous and coloring ranges from grey to rufous.
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