Eurasian scops owl
Otus scops
A small owl with ear tufts and yellow eyes. Confirmed in Georgia as a breeding migrant on the 2024 national bird checklist; it does not stay through the winter.
Overview
What is Eurasian scops owl
The Eurasian scops owl (Otus scops) is a small owl (family Strigidae) confirmed in Georgia as a breeding migrant. The 2024 annotated checklist of the birds of Georgia codes it BB; M: a breeder absent in the non-breeding season, and also a passage migrant. Seasonality is classed as high-quality (code A). Occurrence quality is high (H), with photographs, sound recordings and ringing data. SABUKO lists the Georgian name წყრომი; ჩვეულებრივი წყრომი is also used. Adults are often about 16–21 cm long at species level, with ear tufts and yellow eyes. It is not a threat to people. IUCN lists the species as Least Concern. The 2024 checklist assigns the same category nationally.
Last updated
Gallery
Eurasian scops owl in photos
Photo: Imran Shah
Jutial, Gilgit ·
Photo: Carpodacus
Tashkent Botanical Garden ·
Photo: Imran Shah
Pakistan ·
Photo: Ron Knight
Tashkent ·
Identification
How to identify Eurasian scops owl
A small compact owl with ear tufts, yellow eyes and bark-like camouflage. Confirmed in Georgia as a breeding migrant on the 2024 checklist. The usual confusion is little owl, which has no ear tufts and is more often seen by day.
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Length at species level is often about 16–21 cm; wingspan in the literature is cited in a range of about 47–64 cm; mass is often about 60–135 g. Published figures differ slightly. Females are typically heavier than males. The head has small ear tufts; by day the tufts may be flattened. The eyes are yellow, not dark. The bill is short and hooked. The wings are relatively long and narrow, matching long-distance migration; the tail is short.
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Plumage runs from grey-brown to rufous; both types resemble bark, with dark lengthways streaks and fine speckling. A pale line on the shoulder is often visible. The underparts are paler and mottled. Juveniles are fluffier. Field identification is to species, not colour type. At night the short, rhythmically repeated whistle is unlike little owl.
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Little owl (Athene noctua) is also a year-round resident on the 2024 Georgian checklist; it is similar in size but has no ear tufts, a more boldly spotted body, and is often active at dusk and by day. Tawny owl (Strix aluco) is much larger, with no ear tufts and dark eyes; this atlas has a separate page. Tengmalm's owl (Aegolius funereus) is a small forest owl with no ear tufts and yellow eyes; this atlas has a separate page. Long-eared owl (Asio otus) is larger, with long ear tufts and orange eyes, and is a year-round resident. Eurasian eagle-owl (Bubo bubo) is much larger. Barn owl (Tyto alba) has a heart-shaped face and is pale; it is on the 2014 Red List. Pallid scops owl (Otus brucei) is not on the 2024 Georgian checklist. Cyprus scops owl (Otus cyprius) is a separate species confined to Cyprus.
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It is not a threat to people. Do not handle it. A small yellow-eyed owl with ear tufts giving a single repeated whistle on Georgian summer nights is this species, not eagle-owl.
Biology
Habitat, diet, behavior, and conservation
Habitat and range
In Georgia look during the breeding season and on passage — not in winter. This page does not colour a municipality-by-municipality map. The 2024 checklist confirms country-level breeding-migrant status but does not publish a regional gazetteer. Do not assume it evenly across the whole country, including treeless high plateaus or closed dense forest. Species-level habitat is semi-open country with trees: woodland edge, open deciduous stands, parks, gardens, farmland with trees, and rocky ground with vegetation. Closed dense forest is less typical. NPLG treats it as a breeding bird in Georgia. A separate national elevation band for Georgia is not published here. The atlas map is left uncoloured until named Georgian localities are taken from sources that actually list them.
Diet
There is no separate Georgian diet study on this page. Across the range the main prey is insects: moths, grasshoppers, beetles and cicadas; spiders, caterpillars and earthworms are also taken. Small vertebrates — mice, small birds, lizards, frogs — are occasional and a small share of the diet. Prey is often taken from a perch, or insects drawn to lights. That is species-level diet, not a measured Georgian menu.
Behavior
It is mainly active at night, especially from dusk to midnight. By day it stands upright on a branch, often with the ear tufts flattened; the plumage matches bark, so it is often heard before it is seen. The male territorial call is a short, one-note whistle repeated every two or three seconds, sometimes for tens of minutes; the female’s call is similar, slightly higher. In Georgia that monotonous whistle on summer nights is the main identification cue. Nesting is usually in a tree hole, less often in a wall cavity or an old nest of another bird; nest boxes are used. Species-level clutches are often three to five white eggs; the female does most of the incubation, about 24–25 days. Young leave the nest after about three to four weeks. Those figures are from the wider range, not a Georgian nest sample on this page. The 2024 checklist treats the species as a breeding migrant in Georgia: it does not remain through the winter. Elsewhere, European populations mostly winter south of the Sahara; some Mediterranean birds are resident — that is not the Georgian status. Do not handle it.
Conservation
BirdLife International assesses Otus scops as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. The 2024 Georgian checklist assigns LC globally and nationally. It is not on Georgia’s 2014 Red List (Resolution No. 190); among owls that list includes barn owl (Tyto alba, EN D1). A Georgian population trend is not measured on this page. Documented pressures at species level include habitat loss and fragmentation, fewer insects after pesticide use, and loss of cavity trees; that is not a ranked national threat list for Georgia. It is listed on CITES Appendix II, so international trade is regulated. Do not catch wild birds.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the most important questions about Eurasian scops owl.
Yes. The 2024 annotated checklist of the birds of Georgia treats it as a confirmed breeding migrant (BB; M). Evidence is photographs, sound recordings and ringing data.
In semi-open places with trees: woodland edge, parks, gardens and farmland with trees. This page has no municipality list and does not colour a regional map. Presence is confirmed at country level, not by region.
Small size, ear tufts, yellow eyes, bark-like plumage. At night listen for a short whistle repeated every two or three seconds. Little owl has no ear tufts and is more often seen by day.
About 16–21 cm long at species level; wingspan in the literature is about 47–64 cm. There is no separate measured Georgian series on this page.
Mainly insects; small vertebrates only occasionally. Diet in Georgia is not separately studied on this page.
In the breeding season and on passage, according to the 2024 checklist. It is not treated there as a year-round resident. It is easiest to detect at night by voice.
Yes. BB on the 2024 checklist means a breeding bird. The nest is usually a tree hole. Georgian clutch dates are not tabulated here.
It is not venomous. Do not approach. It is Least Concern globally and nationally on the 2024 checklist. It is not on Georgia’s 2014 Red List. Do not catch wild birds.
- Budagashvili & Javakhishvili 2024 — The birds of Georgia (Sandgrouse 46)
- SABUKO — Bird checklist
- BirdLife DataZone — Eurasian Scops-owl
- IUCN Red List — Otus scops
- IOC World Bird List
- Avibase — Georgia bird checklist
- NPLG Wiki Dictionaries — წყრომი
- საქართველოს მთავრობის დადგენილება №190 (2014) — წითელი ნუსხა
- Holt et al. — Birds of the World (Otus scops)
- Animal Diversity Web — Otus scops
- The Owl Pages — Eurasian Scops Owl
- Flint et al. 2015 — Cyprus Scops Owl taxonomy (Zootaxa)
- Wikimedia Commons — Eurasian Scops-owl, Jutial (Imran Shah, CC BY-SA 2.0)
- Wikimedia Commons — Otus scops, Tashkent botanical garden (Carpodacus, CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Wikimedia Commons — Eurasian Scops-owl (Imran Shah, CC BY-SA 2.0)
- Wikimedia Commons — Eurasian Scops Owl, Tashkent (Ron Knight, CC BY 2.0)
- Wikimedia Commons / xeno-canto XC481631 — Otus scops (Alexander Kürthy, CC BY-SA 4.0)
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
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