Bio-owl-ogists are debating if the Torotoroka Scops Owl and Rainforest Scops Owl are the same species or not.
These owls are found only in Madagascar. Like many tropical owls, not much seems to be known about them.
This one is relaxing in what I would guess is an octopus tree, since that is all Google found when searching for “spikey Madagascar tree.”
What is that tree. Giving me trypophobia vibes
My best educated guess is an Octopus Tree that’s old and dried out.
You can see in this pic, new growth is green, then as it ages, it looks to dry and darken and get woodier.
This other Tororoka Owl is also on what looks to be a younger Octopus Tree.
The Octopus Tree is all that shows up on a search for spiked trees of Madagascar, and since I can’t imagine there would be too many nightmare tree species out there, if there was more than 1, someone would have posted it by now.
Seems a very safe place to hide away though for those who wouldn’t get torn up themselves.