Home range of a Reddish Scops-Owl (Otus rufescens) in an isolated forest in southwestern Peninsular Malaysia

Abstract

The Reddish Scops-Owl (Otus rufescens) is a Near Threatened Sunda endemic associated with lowland closed-canopy forests. We radio-tracked the male Reddish Scops-Owl of a breeding pair in the Ayer Hitam Forest Reserve in southwestern Peninsular Malaysia from July to September 2019. From a total of 137 radio fixes, and based on its minimum convex polygon, harmonic mean, and kernel density estimations, the home range of this bird was estimated as 1.31-2.16 ha, with 2 roosts found within this area. Its movement was 39.13 ± 3.27 m h-1in the understory forest strata (1-5 m tall) and mostly close to bamboo clumps. We discuss the possible niche partitioning and interspecific interactions of this owl.