The Sao Miguel Scops Owl was described in 2013 based on subfossil remains that had been recovered from Quatrnary deposits on the island of São Miguel in the Azores.

The species had relatively longer legs and shorter wings than the Eurasian Scops Owl (Otus scops (L.)); it was generally a ground-dwelling bird that apparently was on the way of becoming flightless. [1]

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It is very likely that additional species of scops owls inhabited the others of the Azores Islands.

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References:

[1] Juan Carlos Rando; Josep Antoni Alcover; Storrs L. Olson; & Harald Pieper: A new species of extinct scops owl (Aves: Strigiformes: Strigidae: Otus) from São Miguel Island (Azores Archipelago), North Atlantic Ocean. Zootaxa. 3647 (2): 343–357. 2013

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edited: 02.05.2022