NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Biak Scops Owl
Otus beccarii (Salvadori, 1876)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Biak scops owl (Otus beccarii) is a species of owl endemic to the twin islands of Biak-Supiori in Cenderawasih Bay, Papua, Indonesia.
Biak scops owls are 20–25 cm in length. They have dark brown and rufous forms (likely morphs) with long ear-tufts and a pale whitish-brown facial disc. Their call is described as hoarse and corvid-like. Their diet mostly consists of small vertebrates or insects. Primarily lives at forest edges and or within forests; may occasionally live near villages. They are rarely seen, and little is known about their reproduction.
Wikipedia contributors, Biak scops owl; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:05:19.794745+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Otus beccarii (Salvadori, 1876)
- Name authority
- (Salvadori, 1876)
- Common name
- Biak Scops Owl
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Strigiformes
- Family
- Strigidae
- Genus
- Otus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderStrigiformes
- familyStrigidae
- subfamilyStriginae
- genusOtus Pennant, 1769
- speciesOtus beccarii (Salvadori, 1876)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Otus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Rajah Scops OwlOtus brookii (Sharpe, 1892) | StrigidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Pallid Scops OwlOtus brucei (Hume, 1872) | StrigidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Elegant Scops OwlOtus elegans (Cassin, 1852) | StrigidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Enggano Scops OwlOtus enganensis Riley, 1927 | StrigidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Everett's Scops OwlOtus everetti (Tweeddale, 1879) | StrigidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Palawan Scops OwlOtus fuliginosus (Sharpe, 1888) | StrigidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Sao Tome Scops OwlOtus hartlaubi (Giebel, 1872) | StrigidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Sandy Scops OwlOtus icterorhynchus (Shelley, 1873) | StrigidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Morden's OwletOtus ireneae Ripley, 1966 | StrigidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Rinjani Scops OwlOtus jolandae Sangster, B. F. King, Verbelen & Trainor, 2013 | StrigidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Sunda Scops OwlOtus lempiji (Horsfield, 1821) | StrigidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Luzon Scops OwlOtus longicornis (Ogilvie-Grant, 1894) | StrigidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Scops beccarii Salvadori, 1876 Salvadori, 1876 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=686651 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4B8GH. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.