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Physical Characteristics: On her official web site, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling recently revealed that Ron’s highly excitable mail carrier is a scops owl. At about seven to eight inches tall, scops owls are the some of the smallest owls in the world. They are mostly brownish-gray in color with paler patches on their faces, underbelly, and shoulders. This coloring gives the scops owl execellent camouflage when perched against tree bark. Scops owls have yellow-orange eyes that are relatively large (compared to the size of their body), but they usually keep their closed except for a very thin slit so as to better blend in with their surroundings. The ears of scops owls are small, feathered tufts that only become visibile when the owl becomes frightened and makes them stand up.
Habitat and Range: Scops owls live in open country with isolated trees and lightly wooded areas containing clusters of trees. They may also be found in run-down buildings, caves, bush-lands, and park-like habitat. Scops owls tend to avoid forested mountains and deep woodlands. Their range extends from southern Europe throughout central, western, and southern Asia all the way south to sub-saharan Africa.
Diet: Scops owls are nocturnal and they enjoy dining on a diet of grasshoppers, beetles, moths and other large insects. They have also been known to hunt for mice, voles, and even small birds, from time to time. There are rumors that it also eats frogs and small lizards.
Life cycle: Scops owls are born from batches of three to six eggs that hatch after incubating for aorund twenty-five days. Upon birth, a scops owl is covered with white down and generally opens its eyes after six days. Around three to four weeks after being born, young scops owls are prepared to fly out from their family's nest. Their parents continue to care for them until they become independent. Annual migration to winter habitat starts in September.
Threats: By far, people pose the greatest threat to scops owl populations. While the scops owl is not liste by the IUCN as being an endangered species, the overuse of pesticides and the destruction or modification of habitat both pose risks for this somewhat rare owl. Additionally, in southern Europe, the scops owl is sometimes hunted as a game bird.
Sources: Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia (Vol. 8 - Birds II), Grzimek, Bernard, ed.; European Scops Owl, Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/); Owl Pages (www.owlpages.com); The Hawk Conservancy Trust (http://www.hawk-conservancy.org/); World Owl Trust (http://www.owls.org/)
