Scops owl
In the late 20th century, scientists started to use DNA to tell how animals were related to each other. This changed things for Otus. In 1999, the first mtDNA cytochrome b study of these owls showed that the separate groups were really different genera and not only subgenera.  The scientists said that most of the genera proposed around 1850 were right or close to right. Not all scientists agreed at first, but they did more and more DNA studies.  In time, almost all scientists came to trust DNA. In 2003, the AOU formally decided to take screech owls out of Otus and put them in the genus Megascops.