Whiskered screech owl | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Strigiformes |
Family: | Strigidae |
Genus: | Megascops |
Species: | M. trichopsis
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Binomial name | |
Megascops trichopsis (Wagler, 1832)
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Subspecies | |
See text. | |
Synonyms | |
Otus trichopsis |
The whiskered screech owl (Megascops trichopsis) is a small screech owl found in North and Central America.
Adults occur in 2 color morphs, in either brown or dark grey plumage. They have a round head with ear tufts, yellow eyes and a yellowish bill. The bird looks very similar to a western screech owl, but has heavier barring on the breast, and is slightly smaller in size. They are 6.3 to 7.9 in and have a wingspan of 17.3 in.
The whiskered screech owl's range extends from southeasternmost Arizona (the Madrean sky islands region) in the United States , southwards through Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, to north central Nicaragua.[1] Their breeding habitat is dense coniferous or oak woodlands, and coffee plantations usually occurring at higher elevations than the western screech owl.
These birds wait on a perch and swoop down on prey; they also capture targeted food items in flight. They mainly eat small mammals and large insects, with grasshoppers, beetles, and moths making up a large portion of their diet but, they also eat katydids and scorpions . They are active at night or near dusk, using their excellent hearing and night vision to locate prey.
The most common call is a series of about 8 regularly spaced "boo" notes, slightly higher in the middle, slightly lower at each end.
3 to 4 eggs are usually laid in April or May, usually found in a tree cavity or old woodpecker hole 5 to 7 meters above the ground.
There are 3 recognized subspecies:[3]
Wikidata ☰ Q1147207 entry
Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiskered screech owl.
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