NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Giant Scops Owl
Otus gurneyi (Tweeddale, 1879)
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 giant scops owl (Otus gurneyi), lesser eagle owl, Mindanao eagle owl or Mindanao owl, is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is endemic to the Philippines, found on Mindanao, the Dinagat Islands, Siargao and Samar. In size and structure, it is considered intermediate between a scops owl and an eagle-owl. Its natural habitat is tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Wikipedia contributors, Giant scops owl; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:05:38.578385+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Otus gurneyi (Tweeddale, 1879)
- Name authority
- (Tweeddale, 1879)
- Common name
- Giant 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 gurneyi (Tweeddale, 1879)
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 |
|---|---|
| Pseudoptynx gurneyi Tweeddale, 1879 Tweeddale, 1879 | synonym |
| Mimizuku gurneyi (Tweeddale, 1879) (Tweeddale, 1879) | 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=202271 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:4B8H6. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.