Mountain scops owl

{{Short description|Species of owl}}

{{Speciesbox

| name = Mountain scops owl

| image = Mountain Scops Owl (3)a.jpg

| image_caption = An adult mountain scops owl (Otus spilocephalus spilocephalus) from Arunachal Pradesh, India

| status = LC

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = {{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=Otus spilocephalus |volume=2016 |page=e.T22688579A93201511 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22688579A93201511.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}

| status2 = CITES_A2

| status2_system = CITES

| status2_ref = {{Cite web|title=Appendices {{!}} CITES|url=https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php|access-date=2022-01-14|website=cites.org}}

| genus = Otus

| species = spilocephalus

| authority = (Blyth, 1846)

| synonyms = *Otus stresemanni

}}

The mountain scops owl (Otus spilocephalus), sometimes referred to as the spotted scops owl, is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is locally common in its main habitat which covers some parts of Asia, including Bangladesh Bhutan, Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Nepal, Taiwan, and Thailand. It is an altitudinal migrant.{{Cite journal |date=2023-02-28 |title=Estimating Occupancy and Abundance of Endangered Kashmir Musk Deer ( ) in Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand |journal=Indian Journal of Ecology |doi=10.55362/ije/2023/3890|doi-broken-date=9 April 2025 |doi-access=free }} It has a short high-pitched call. Their call sounds like a two-note whistle, "plew-plew" or "he-he", although the female's songs are rarely heard. Their calls can also vary between different populations allowing one to determine a bird's origin.

File:Mountain scops owl juv.jpg, India]]