Andaman Scops Owl

The Andaman scops owl is a largely brown owl with white speckles and yellow eyes, 18–19 cm long. It occurs in red-brown and grey-brown morphs and has prominent ear tufts and pale eyebrows. The upperparts are spotted black and white, with white spots along the neck and crown, and the underparts are pale and grey. It has no sightings outside the Andaman Islands, so research on it is limited (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is nocturnal and eats a variety of insects such as caterpillars and beetles, hiding in leaves and sliding silently behind prey before attacking. The nesting season is February to April, in a tree hollow or an abandoned woodpecker or barbet hole 2–4 m above ground, with two or three eggs. The account says it is not threatened, though rising deforestation on the islands has led to a slow decline. SoIB 2023 treats it as an Andaman endemic and a resident forest bird that eats invertebrates, without a priority category (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).