Collared Scops Owl

The collared scops owl is a small owl, 23 to 25cm long, though the largest of the scops owls. It has small head tufts, grey or brown upperparts with faint buff spotting, a whitish or buff facial disc and orange or brown eyes. It is a resident breeder from northern Pakistan, northern India, Nepal and Bangladesh through the Himalayas to southern China and Taiwan, and is partially migratory (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is a common breeding bird in forests and other well-wooded areas, nesting in tree hollows and laying three to five eggs. It is nocturnal but can often be located by the small birds that mob it while it roosts in a tree. It feeds mainly on insects. The call is a quiet 'goog gook', and the species are most easily separated in the field by their calls.