African Scops Owl

Common resident. The plumage resembles tree-bark, the grey morph (a) being commoner than the brown (b). The only very small owl with ear-tufts. Calls mostly at night, sometimes by day, a soft ‘prrrrp’ repeated at about 10-second intervals. Occurs singly or in pairs in any woodland and mixed bushveld. By day perches in a tree, close to the trunk, where its cryptic colouring makes detection difficult. This camouflage is further enhanced by its habit of depressing its feathers to appear long and thin, raising its ear-tufts and half-closing its eyes, creating the illusion of a tree stump; see (a).