[3] Sokoke scops owl have a highly restricted range in coastal Kenya and north-eastern Tanzania.

[3] Two other isolated populations have been subsequently discovered in the Dakatcha woodlands in Kenya and in the Manga and Kwamgumi forest reserves in the lowlands of the East Usambara mountains, Tanzania.

[4] It is thought that holes in Brachylaena trees provide suitable nesting sites for the owls[5] and their removal may be responsible for population declines.

[6] Its dependence on undisturbed forest means that it is threatened by human disturbance such as logging, fires and encroachment.

[8] They are most active immediately after dark and before dawn and travel further from their roost sites to forage when there is less illumination from the Moon.

Pellet samples show that they feed almost exclusively on medium-sized insects across a wide range of orders, with the predominant prey type likely dependent on availability at the time.