Rufescent Screech Owl (Megascops ingens)

Rufescent Screech Owl

Subspecies

Monotypic species

Genus

The genus Megascops comprises 22 living species are known at present, but new ones are frequently recognized and unknown ones are still being discovered on a regular basis, especially in the Andes. For most of the 20th century, this genus was merged with the Old World scops-owls in Otus, but nowadays it is again considered separate based on a range of behavioral, biogeographical, morphological and DNA sequence data. Screech-owls are restricted to the Americas. Some species formerly placed with them are nowadays considered more distinct.
As usual for owls, female screech-owls are usually larger and fatter than the males of their species, with owls of both sexes being compact in size, shape, and height. The Eastern Screech-owl Megascops asio is one of the smallest species of owls in North America. All of the birds in this genus are small and agile. Screech-owls are generally colored in various brownish hues with usually a whitish, patterned underside, which helps to camouflage them against the bark of trees. Some are polymorphic, occurring in a grayish- and a reddish-brown morph.

Physical charateristics

Occurs in two morphs, brown and rufous. It iis large and on first sight uniformly colored. Facial disc buffy-brown with vague rings and an unclear rim. Pale eyebrows. Upperparts tawny-olive with light grey-brown or sandy rufous. Underparts buffy-white with fine bars white-brownish and some dark brown streaks. Iris brown. Wings edges seem to be whitith spotted.

Listen to the sound of Rufescent Screech Owl

[audio:http://www.planetofbirds.com/MASTER/STRIGIFORMES/Strigidae/sounds/Rufescent Screech Owl.mp3]

Copyright remark: Most sounds derived from xeno-canto

wingspan min.:	0	cm	wingspan max.:	0	cm
size min.:	24	cm	size max.:	28	cm
incubation min.:	0	days	incubation max.:	0	days
fledging min.:	0	days	fledging max.:	0	days
broods:	0		eggs min.:	0
			eggs max.:	0

Range

South America : Venezuela to Bolivia

Habitat

Dense, humid cloud forest and scrub on the Andes slopes at 1200m to 2250m elevation

Reproduction

No data.

Feeding habits

Nocturnal hunter, probably mostly insects. Forages in midstorey and canopy.

Conservation

This species has a very large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be stable, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size has not been quantified, but it is not believed to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

Rufescent Screech Owl status Least Concern

Migration

Presumed resident

Distribution map

Rufescent Screech Owl distribution range map

Planet of Birds