It is found throughout Madagascar, now that it has recently been lumped with the Torotoroka scops owl (O. r. madagascariensis), with which it was long considered a separate species from.

Features which stand out from the main plumage color are the pale eyebrows, light spots on the scapulars and the barring on the wings and outer tail feathers.

[3] The typical song of the Madagascar scops owl is a series of between five and nine short, reverberating, clear hoots which can be rendered as "pu-pu-pu-pu-pu".

[5] The Madagascar scops owl feeds on invertebrates, such as grasshoppers, beetles, moths and spiders, as well as taking small vertebrates.

The status of the rainforest is debatable as there is very little genetic distance between the two taxa[6][7] and subsequent studies have suggested that the plumage differences between O. rutilus and O. madagascariensis are small and that their voices intergrade.