Indian Scops Owl Fine Art Print
A high quality fine art print on Hahnemühle German Etching art paper of an Indian Scops Owl, painted by wildlife painter Peter Paillou (c.1720-c.1790).
Superb Indian Scops Owl Fine Art Print on Museum-Quality Paper
We've meticulously reproduced Indian Scops Owl Fine Art Print on museum-quality fine art paper, matched to size. The 6in x 8in print is produced on Enhanced Matte Art Paper [EMA], a heavy-duty fine art paper with a smooth, non-reflective finish. The 12in x 16in and 18in x 24in prints are produced on 310gsm Hahnemühle German Etching paper [HGE], an acid and lignin-free archival paper with a fine tooth, offering our highest level of detail and longevity.
Both papers are fade-resistant and colourfast, using pigment inks designed to preserve the clarity and depth of the original artwork for decades. Every print is produced to order from a high-resolution master file, ensuring sharp detail and accurate colour reproduction.
* Please note that images of Indian Scops Owl Fine Art Print on our website are lower resolution copies of the originals, for illustrative purposes only. The actual print uses high-resolution source imagery to ensure a crisp, clear, and visually stunning final result.
The Taylor White Collection's 18th Century Watercolour Painting of the Indian Scops Owl
Our Indian Scops Owl comes from the original collection of Taylor White F.R.S. (1701-1772). In the mid-18th Century, White commissioned the celebrated wildlife painter Peter Paillou (c.1720 - c.1790) to paint a number of specimens for his collection. The watercolour of the Indian Scops Owl was among the works Paillou produced for White.
The original Indian Scops Owl watercolour is finely painted, with remarkable detail, allowing the plumage and features of the Indian Scops Owl to be seen in stunning clarity. This depth of colour and detail has been captured brilliantly through the digitisation process and is replicated here for your home or office decor, or as a thoughtful gift.
Taylor White, a barrister by profession and later Puisne Judge for Chester, was a keen naturalist and Fellow of the Royal Society, elected in 1725. Over nearly forty years from the 1730s until his death in 1772, he commissioned 938 watercolours of birds, mammals, fish and reptiles, including the Indian Scops Owl, now held at McGill University and painted almost entirely by two artists, Charles Collins and Peter Paillou. White was a founding governor of The Foundling Hospital in London and served as its treasurer for the last twenty-five years of his life. His well-connected social and scientific circle gave his artists exceptional access to specimens: his second wife, Frances Armstrong, was the daughter of General John Armstrong, Governor of the Tower of London and Chief Royal Engineer, and White's artists painted the lions, wolves and other animals of the Royal Menagerie there. He also borrowed specimens from the British Museum, and received rare and exotic birds from friends, including the naturalist Joseph Banks, who sailed to Newfoundland in 1766, and William Harrison, who brought back specimens from voyages testing his father's marine chronometer.
The Indian Scops Owl
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.
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