Middle American Screech Owl
Megascops guatemalae
The Middle American screech owl is 20 to 23 cm (7.9 to 9.1 in) long and weighs 95 to 150 g (3.4 to 5.3 oz). It is dimorphic, with one morph overall grayish-brown and the other overall rufous. Unlike other owls of the same genus, it has feathered feet. The brown morph has a light brown facial disc with a thin dark border, thin white brows over yellow eyes, and short dark "ear" tufts. Its crown and upperparts range from dark gray brown to blackish brown; the crown has blackish spots and bars and the back has darker streaks and vermiculations. The fairly long tail is barred. Voice: The Middle American screech owl's principal territorial song is "a rapid, quavering trill...increasing in pitch and volume, ending abruptly". Its secondary song is a "short series of notes...in bouncing-ball rhythm."
ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
White-throated Screech Owl
Megascops albogularis
The white-throated screech owl is a large member of its genus. It is 20 to 26 cm (7.9 to 10.2 in) long and weighs 130 to 185 g (4.6 to 6.5 oz). It is overall dark plumaged, has a round head with very small ear tufts, and a longish tail. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a dark brown head and upperparts with small blackish, reddish, and white marks. Their flight feathers and tail have narrow darker bars. They have a dark facial disc with whitish marks above and below the orange eyes and a large white area below the bill that in some postures looks like large moustaches. Voice: The white-throated screech owl has several vocalizations. What is believed to be its primary male song is "gruff, barked notes, 'churrochurro-churro-chu chu chu chu'" given for up to a minute. A secondary song is "evenly spaced hoots, 5 per second". Members of a pair sing in duet, with the female having a higher pitch. The female also has various agitation calls.
ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Where you might meet both
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Play today's Daily BirdPhotos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Middle American Screech Owl and White-throated Screech Owl.