Foothill Screech Owl (Megascops roraimae) | Photos, Calls and ID

NENot EvaluatedInvertebrates

ForestCavity nestMedium · 110 g

Foothill Screech Owl (Megascops roraimae), photo 1 — Photo: Luis G Restrepo · CC BY 4.0

Foothill Screech Owl (Megascops roraimae), photo 2 — Photo: Luis G Restrepo · CC BY 4.0

Foothill Screech Owl (Megascops roraimae), photo 3 — Photo: Christoph Moning · CC BY 4.0

Foothill Screech Owl (Megascops roraimae), photo 4 — Photo: (c) Luis G Restrepo, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

Foothill Screech Owl (Megascops roraimae), photo 5 — Photo: (c) Christoph Moning, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

Foothill Screech Owl (Megascops roraimae), photo 6 — Photo: no rights reserved · CC0

What the Foothill Screech Owl sounds like

Sonogram of the Foothill Screech Owl: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.

Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Song · Sucumbíos: Mirador de Lumbaqui, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Song · Napo: Napo Galeras, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

The foothill screech owl is 20 to 23 cm (7.9 to 9.1 in) long and weighs 91 to 128 g (3.2 to 4.5 oz). The subspecies are reddish brown to brown with paler bellies, and most have both a pale and a dark morph. The intensity of the reddish cast varies among the subspecies as do the amount and pattern of streaks and spots on the upperparts and vermiculation on the underparts. Voice: The foothill screech owl's song is a "wavering trill" similar to that of the Middle American screech owl (M. guatemalae). It "starts quietly, gradually increasing in volume and pitch, then dropping slightly in pitch but with steady volume decreases in volume near end."

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Foothill Screech Owl

One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is January, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Foothill Screech Owl

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 8 countries with regular records, and 1 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Ecuador Peru Venezuela Colombia Suriname French Guiana Guyana Bolivia

Recorded as a rare visitor in Brazil.

About the Foothill Screech Owl

The foothill screech owl is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Santa Marta Screech OwlMegascops gilesiThe Santa Marta screech owl is a medium-sized member of genus Megascops, though the length and mass of the 1919 specimen were not published.

Long-tufted Screech OwlMegascops sanctaecatarinaeThe long-tufted screech owl is 25 to 28 cm (9.8 to 11 in) long.

West Peruvian Screech OwlMegascops roboratusThe nominate subspecies of West Peruvian screech owl is 20 to 22 cm (7.9 to 8.7 in) long and weighs 144 to 162 g (5.1 to 5.7 oz).

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