It is largely similar in appearance to the Moluccan scops owl, O. magicus, but has a different call, a clean whistling hoot rather than the raspy croak of O.

[5] Seven specimens of the owl were obtained from May to July in 1896 by British naturalist Alfred Everett, who also used paid local collectors.

However, at that time, the bird was not recognised as being specifically distinct from the Moluccan scops owl, which occurs on other islands in the Lesser Sundas.

Both parties independently concluded that the calls differed substantially from those of O. magicus and other Asian scops owls.

It is locally common within remaining forest habitat on the island, much of which lies within the Gunung Rinjani National Park, at elevations of 25–1350 m.[5] Prior to 2018, the Rinjani scops owl was not included on Indonesia's protected species list; however, given that there was no harvest quota in place for the species, it could not be commercially traded.