A nest of the Ryukyu Scops Owl Otus elegans was found on Okinoshima (Okino Island), Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan (34.24°N, 130.10°E), in the Tsushima Strait, on 28 July 2013. The breeding pair and their three owlets were caught and their identity confirmed genetically using the BOLD System for COI in the mitochondrial genome. Their calls and external morphological measurements also accorded with what is known of the species. We estimated that at least 23 territorial males inhabit the Island. Okinoshima lies 490 km beyond the previously known northern limit of the species' distribution.
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1 January 2015
A Breeding Record of the Ryukyu Scops Owl on Okinoshima, in Northernmost Fukuoka, Japan
Masaoki Takagi,
Takema Saitoh,
Noriyuki Yamaguchi,
Hiroto Okabe,
Isao Nishiumi,
Masayoshi Takeishi
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Ornithological Science
Vol. 14 • No. 1
January 2015
Vol. 14 • No. 1
January 2015
External morphological identification
Genetic identification
Northern limit of distribution
Otus elegans
Spectrographic identification