This scops owl is restricted to Karthala volcano on Grande Comoro. It has dark gray-brown upperparts and dark rufous-brown underparts and is associated with remaining high-elevation forest.
It has a dark gray-brown back with indistinct barring, dark rufous-brown underparts, and pale facial speckling.
A 1989 nocturnal survey recorded territorial calls from owls on the Karthala slopes.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.