While most scops owls usually make themselves known by their persistent vocalizations, the Javan scops owl is relatively quiet. The bird's alarm calls are repeated explosive "poo-poo" with a 0.5-second delay and a pitch decrease between the two notes. This call will be repeated multiple times and often has a trembling quality. The contact call of these birds is a hissing "tch-tschschsch". The male bird can also produce a lower and soft comfort call like "wook-wook."
