Otus bakkamoena
Native to South Asia, the Indian Scops Owl (Otus bakkamoena) is a small to medium-sized nocturnal owl captured in fine detail in this 18th Century watercolour by Peter Paillou, part of the Taylor White Collection.
Description of the Indian Scops Owl
Distinguished by a rounded head without ear tufts, the species shows large yellow-orange to deep orange eyes and finely mottled, cryptic plumage suited to a life spent largely unseen. Adults measure between 23 and 25 centimetres in length. When threatened, the owl elongates its body and narrows its eyes to a thin slit, transforming its silhouette to resemble a broken tree branch, a defence as effective as it is understated.
The Indian Scops Owl’s Range
The Indian Scops Owl’s range extends across India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and parts of Southeast Asia, where it favours deciduous forests, plantations and gardens. Its diet is largely insectivorous, built around beetles, moths and locusts, though it will also take small mammals, birds and reptiles when the opportunity arises. Breeding takes place between February and April; pairs are monogamous and typically nest in old woodpecker holes or natural tree cavities rather than building their own. In the wild, the species lives for up to ten years, extending to as much as twenty years in captivity under favourable conditions.
The IUCN currently lists the Indian Scops Owl as Least Concern, though its population is understood to be in decline. Habitat loss, fragmentation, hunting and capture for the illegal pet trade all contribute to this downward trend, underlining the value of continued study and conservation alongside historical records such as Paillou’s watercolour.
c.1720 - c.1790
Peter Paillou (c.1712-1782) was a natural history painter of Huguenot descent, born in London to a family that had emigrated from France in the previous century. He trained under the London painter Jacob Tribble before establishing himself as an animal and bird painter. Following Charles Collins's death in 1744, Paillou took over as the principal artist for the naturalist and collector Taylor White, contributing well over 100 signed watercolours of birds, mammals and reptiles, with many more attributed to him on stylistic grounds. He continued to paint for other patrons throughout his career, including the naturalist Thomas Pennant, whose zoological illustrations Paillou supplied for British Zoology and Arctic Zoology, and was later elected a member of the Society of Artists, exhibiting watercolours of birds in London. Paillou died in 1782.
Credit: Taylor White Collection, Rare Books & Special Collections, McGill University Library.