The crown and upper-parts are chestnut with rufous wavy markings and black shaft streaks.

The underparts are rufous with fine vermiculations of brown and white and bold black streaking.

The São Tomé scops owl's voice is a high-pitched ‘hu-hu-hu’, and also a low-pitched, raucous ‘kwow’.

[3] This owl's natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest where it is relatively widespread and the population is probably several hundred birds.

Its diet consists of insects, grasshoppers, beetles, moths, and small lizards.