Includes Colombian Screech-Owl
- Megascops ingens
Otus ingens
Identification
25-28 cm: relatively large with short ear tufts. Occurs in rufous, more olive, or greyish-brown morphs.
Description of a brown morph bird: it has whitish hind-crown, brown tones, fine cross hatched streaks on the breast, brown eyes and green-gray bill.
Variation
Subspecies colombianus is smaller, 20-23 cm. It is mainly found in a rufous morph and has bold marks on the underside.
Distribution
Colombia to Venezuela as well as to Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia.
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
There are three [1]:
- M. i. colombianus - west slope of Andes of Colombia to northwest Ecuador
- M. i. venezuelanus - Andes of northern Colombia to northwest Venezuela
- M. i. ingens (synonym minimus) - Andes of northern Ecuador to Peru and west-central Bolivia
Subspecies colombianus was for a while split out as a full species, Colombian Screech-Owl, but has now been placed back into Rufescent Screech-Owl.
Habitat
Humid mountain forest from 1200-2500 m asl
Behaviour
This is a resident species. Spends day roosting, becoming active at dusk.
The most well known song is a series of about 50 'ut' notes, initially given soft but then accelerating.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Birdforum thread with description of this species
- König, C. and F. Weick 2008. Owls of the World, second edition. Christopher Helm, London. ISBN 978-0-7136-6548-2
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Rufescent Screech-Owl. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 4 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Rufescent_Screech-Owl
External Links
Search for the colombianus form
