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An Oriental Scops Owl came for a visit

on 4th December 2008

Melissa Ong was ecstatic when she learnt that her mom had a close encounter with an owl. It was 8.30am on Sunday 30th November 2008 when her mom called her and whispered, “There’s an owl in my bouganvillea!” Her mom was then watering her plants and felt there was something small and dark staring at her. The owl was a rare Oriental Scops Owl (Otus sunia), roosting in the bougainvillea plant.

What is unusual is that her garden is the corridor fronting her third level Housing Development Board’s apartment at Sembawang. To have a bird roosting among the potted plants there is exciting enough. For the bird to be an owl, a bird seldom seen by most urban dwellers in the wild or even heard it’s hoots in the dead of the night, is beyond imagination.

So what do you think Melissa did? She ran over with her camera to see the owl perching on the bougainvillea branches that are hanging over the railing.

“The neighbours walked by, photographs were taken and the owl did not seem to mind it. It’s head just followed my mom wherever she walked. It did not groom or reposition itself or do anything else. The owl remained on the plant the whole of Sunday, even spending the night there until about 1-2am on Monday when it flew off, probably to forage.”

Melissa called bird specialist R Subaraj, who asked for the eye colour (yellow and black) and replied that it was probably an Oriental Scops Owl. The identification was confirmed when images were sent to Subaraj.

The Oriental Scops Owl is a rare winter visitor and passage migrant, so it was probably lost. Its presence has not been recorded too often and this is the 14th record for Singapore.

Image by Daniel Tay.

If you like this post please tap on the Like button at the left bottom of page. Any views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors/contributors, and are not endorsed by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM, NUS) or its affiliated institutions. Readers are encouraged to use their discretion before making any decisions or judgements based on the information presented.

YC Wee

Dr Wee played a significant role as a green advocate in Singapore through his extensive involvement in various organizations and committees: as Secretary and Chairman for the Malayan Nature Society (Singapore Branch), and with the Nature Society (Singapore) as founding President (1978-1995). He has also served in the Nature Reserve Board (1987-1989), Nature Reserves Committee (1990-1996), National Council on the Environment/Singapore Environment Council (1992-1996), Work-Group on Nature Conservation (1992) and Inter-Varsity Council on the Environment (1995-1997). He is Patron of the Singapore Gardening Society and was appointed Honorary Museum Associate of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) in 2012. In 2005, Dr Wee started the Bird Ecology Study Group. With more than 6,000 entries, the website has become a valuable resource consulted by students, birdwatchers and researchers locally and internationally. The views and opinions expressed in this article are his own, and do not represent those of LKCNHM, the National University of Singapore or its affiliated institutions.

Other posts by YC Wee

3 Responses

  1. Wow !!! this is an awesome encounter with a very rare bird and owl. I am green with envy ….
    I had an Oriental Honey Buzzard blasting past my kitchen window, but nothing beats this..
    Have you people notice that the digital camera, the internet, the blog had given a voice to the people to express their findings, and views. Birding now has now become so much more democratic, and not just confined to the few hard core birders. That means anyone can bird at any time … even from their kitchen window…. Cheers

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