Unique Cyprus owl victim of illegal trapping

BIRD conservationists said yesterday they had found a unique Cyprus Scops owl in a net set by an illegal bird trapper in the Famagusta area.

“The bird is one of our “own,” said BirdLife Cyprus’ Lilia Kapsali. She said the  Cyprus Scops owl ‘Otus scops cyprius’ was a unique, diminutive owl. 

“It is the farmer’s ‘friend’, consuming beetles and other insects. With the arrival of spring, its distinctive call can be heard in the evening in rural areas and especially in our forests. It lives only in Cyprus.”

This particular Scops owl was found in a net, set by an illegal bird trapper, in the Famagusta area. Kapsali said there were also around a dozen Blackcaps, Sylvia atricapilla, in the net, which was discovered during spring monitoring by BirdLife members. 

BirdLife could not say how long the owl had been in the net but they managed to untangle it before it injured itself. The owl was taken for observation and later released far from the area where it was caught in the net. 

“The big damage from trapping comes from the non-selective nature of the illegality,” said Kapsali. 

“Over one hundred different species were recorded trapped. On the specific day, in the specific net, it was the turn of the unlucky Scops owl.”