Crested Owl

Photo by Francisco Paludo
Alta Floresta, MT, Brasil, March, 2018

Photo by Roy Halpin
Shasta Lodge, Ecuador, January 2004

Lophostrix cristata

Identification

Two color morphs in most subspecies, a dark chocolate brown and a lighter rufous brown morph.

Subspecies stricklandi differs in having yellow eyes and being generally light greyish-brown.

Distribution

Central and South America: found from Mexico to Colombia and Peru, and disjointly in the Amazon basin.

Taxonomy

Subspecies

Three subspecies are recognized^[1]:

• L. c. stricklandi: has been suspected of being a full species but data is lacking^[3].

• Southern Mexico (Veracruz) to western Panama and western Colombia

• L. c. wedeli:

• Eastern Panama to north-eastern Colombia and north-western Venezuela

• L. c. cristata:

• Southern Colombia to northern Bolivia, southern Venezuela, Guianas, western Amazonian Brazil

A fourth subspecies, amazonica is generally considered to be invalid^[2].

Habitat

Lowland Rainforest

Behaviour

Nocturnal.

Diet

The diet includes caterpillar and beetles.

Breeding

It nests in a tree hole.

Vocalisation

Call: a deep croak repeated every 5-10 seconds.

stricklandi: has a shorter gurrr or ohrrr; other two races have a little longer g,g,g,g,ggrrrrrrr.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2010. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2010. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/Clements%206.5.xls/view
2. Avibase
3. König et al, Owls of the world
4. Owling.com

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Crested Owl. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 25 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Crested_Owl

External Links

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