Japanese name: Ookonohazuku
Scientific name: Otus bakkamoena lempiji
Description: For an owl, this is a small bird, but for a Scops Owl, it’s on the large side if it gets to 20-24 cm long and 100-170 grams’ weight. These owls have large tufted “eyebrows,” a grayish collar on the nape and large orange eyes in a white or buff face. The toes of the Japanese and Chinese subspecies are covered in feathers. Being nocturnal, you are more likely to hear than see one, however, although the voice is an almost pitiful catlike mew. The coloration and patterning of these owls varies a lot, and indeed there is some confusion about the taxonomic status of the species. They fly in a deeply undulating pattern; in the day they can sometimes be spotted because they will be mobbed by small birds.
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