Wetar Scops-Owl Otus tempestatis Scientific name definitions

As its name suggests, the Wetar Scops-Owl is endemic to the island of Wetar, north of Timor, in the Maluku Province of Indonesia, where it inhabits a wide range of wooded habitats including plantations. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the widespread Moluccan Scops-Owl (Otus magicus) but differs from all of the many subspecies of the latter in its distinctive vocalizations and more minor morphological differences. As noted by Mayr (1 Mayr, E. (1944). The birds of Timor and Sumba. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 83(2):123–194. Close ), this scops-owl is one of the very few resident species on Wetar that lacks a close (congeneric) relative on the much larger neighboring island of Timor. Perhaps predictably, its former taxonomic treatment has understandably meant that little ornithological attention has been devoted to this Otus, and most aspects of its ecology (including diet and breeding) are wholly unknown. Despite being confined to a single island, the Wetar Scops-Owl is currently listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, owing to its apparent tolerance of degraded habitats.