Tropical Screech-owl
A species of Screech owls Scientific name : Megascops choliba Genus : Screech owls
Tropical Screech-owl, A species of Screech owls
Botanical name: Megascops choliba
Genus: Screech owls
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Description People often ask General Info
Description
This polymorphic species is highly variable in colour, it being overall grey-brown or (less commonly) brown or rufous, but always with a relatively distinctive blackish edge to the face and yellow irides. The length is 21–23 centimetres (8.3–9.1 in) long and weight is 97–160 grams (3.4–5.6 oz).
Size
24 cm
Colors
Brown
Black
Gray
White
Feeding Habits
Tropical Screech-owl primarily consumes large arthropods and small vertebrates, including insects, frogs, snakes, birds, opossums, and rodents. Tropical Screech-owl hunts at night using stealth and acute hearing, with a preference for certain prey like bats and moths.
Habitat
Tropical Screech-owl thrives in a diverse array of habitats including open woodlands, streamside groves, and the vegetated borders of terra firme and várzea forests, extending to human-altered environments such as coffee plantations, suburban areas, and residential zones with trees. These habitats range from dry to humid and accommodate tropical Screech-owl outside the dense interiors of lowland and, typically, montane forests. However, a particular subspecies of tropical Screech-owl does inhabit humid montane forests in southern Venezuela.
Dite type
Carnivorous
People often ask
General Info
Distribution Area
It is found throughout South America (including Trinidad and Tobago), except in the Andes, the arid Pacific lowlands, and the far south. Its distribution also extends into southern Central America in Costa Rica and Panama. It is generally common – in large parts of its range among the most common species of owls and likely the most common screech owl of the tropics. It occurs in a wide range of wooded habitats, ranging from arid Caatinga to dense rainforest, and even city parks.
Species Status
Not globally threatened.
Scientific Classification
Phylum
Chordates Class
Birds Order
Owls Family
True owls Genus
Screech owls Species
Tropical Screech-owl