NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Siau Scops Owl
Otus siaoensis (Schlegel, 1873)
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 Siau scops owl (Otus siaoensis) is a critically endangered owl species. They live on Siau Island, north of Sulawesi, Indonesia, and are (were) forest dwellers. The species is only known from a single holotype from 1866 although there have been more recent potential sightings, including one in 2017. Nonetheless, their already small, relatively barren habitat is being lost to excessive logging of the little forest present on the island and there are assumed to be very few individuals left, if any. The taxonomic arrangement for this owl has not been fully worked out. While recognized as a distinct species by the IOU, others consider it a subspecies of either the Sulawesi scops owl or the Moluccan scops owl, and it has recently been analyzed and found to be closest in morphology to the Sangihe scops owl.
On 14 December 2017, a video of a purported Siau scops owl trapped in a building was uploaded to YouTube (see external links). Although it has been the subject of debate, the scientific community has not been able to confirm the bird's identification.
Wikipedia contributors, Siau 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 siaoensis (Schlegel, 1873)
- Name authority
- (Schlegel, 1873)
- Common name
- Siau 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 siaoensis (Schlegel, 1873)
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 |
|---|---|
| Otus manadensis siaoensis (Schlegel, 1873) (Schlegel, 1873) | synonym |
| Scops siaoensis Schlegel, 1873 Schlegel, 1873 | synonym |
| Otus magicus siaoensis (Schlegel, 1873) (Schlegel, 1873) | 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=1063242 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:4B8JM. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.