From Opus

Photo by ciroalbano
Chapada do Araripe, Ceará, Brazil

Megascops choliba

Otus choliba

Identification

20-24cm

• Short ear tufts
• Yellow eyes
• Light grey, black edged facial disk
• Heavily streaked upper-parts and under-parts marked with herring bone pattern

• Grey, brown and red colour morphs occur with intermediates.

Distribution

From Costa Rica through the northern half of South America including Trinidad but not found west of the Andes.

Taxonomy

This and almost all Screech Owls in the Americas have previously been considered to belong in the same genus (Otus) as the European and Asian Scops-Owls, but a reassignment to Megascops have been accepted by among other authorities, the American Ornithologists' Union.

Subspecies^[1]

Nine subspecies are recognized:

• M. c. luctisonus:

• Costa Rica to north-western Colombia; winters to Pearl Islands (Panama)

• M. c. margaritae:

• Isla Margarita (off north-western Venezuela)

• M. c. duidae:

• Duida Mountains (southern Venezuela)

• M. c. crucigerus (montanus, kelsoi, alticola, caucae):

• Eastern Colombia to Venezuela, the Guianas, eastern Peru and north-eastern Brazil

• M. c. surutus:

• Bolivia

• M. c. decussatus (caatingensis):

• South-central and eastern Brazil

• M. c. choliba (chapadensis):

• Southern Brazil (southern Mato Grosso and São Paulo) to eastern Paraguay

• M. c. wetmorei (alilucoco):

• Western Paraguay and northern Argentina

• M. c. uruguaiensis:

• South-eastern Brazil to Uruguay and north-eastern Argentina

Habitat

Savanna, open forest, plantations, parks, clearings. Mainly in lowland, can be found somewhat high as long as local weather is warm.

Behaviour

Diet

The diet includes insects and other invertebrates, occasionally snakes and small mammals. ====Breeding The clutch of 1-4 eggs are laid in a tree cavity.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. Word Owl Trust

• List of references

External Links