indian scops owl

In 2023 I had a trip to India on a business trip and was lucky enough to be able to tag on a couple of days Wildlife Photography at the end.  We visited Pench National Park in Nagpur with the intention of seeing Tigers and Leopards.

When I arrived at the hotel set on the edge of the Jungle the first thing the host said to me was ‘I hear you like owl’s – come with me’.  He took me to the edge of the porch at the front of the hotel and underneath one of the rafters was this little owl sat.  He said its nearly always there and sometimes there is 2.

We did 2 days safari and the guide also pointed out a couple of them in nest’s as well.  I only had a short 400mm lens with me so didn’t manage to get as closeup shot as id have liked but was wonderful to see them.

The Indian scops owl (Otus bakkamoena) is a resident species native to South Asia. It measures around 23–25 cm in length, making it one of the largest scops owls. Like other scops owls, it features small head tufts and has grey or brown upperparts with faint buff spotting. The underparts are buff with fine darker streaking. This nocturnal owl is challenging to spot during the day due to its natural camouflage, but it may be detected by the small birds that mob it while it roosts in trees. Its diet primarily consists of insects, and it nests in tree holes, laying 3–5 eggs.