Formerly Otus trichopsis
Also known as Spotted Screech Owl
Calls - Megascops trichopsis
Description: A small screech owl that occurs in a grey and
red morph, with the red morph being more common in the south of its range.
Grey Morph - Facial disc is light greyish, with indistinct darker concentric
lines around the relatively large, yellow eyes. It has a distinct blackish rim. There are long, wispy
whiskers at the base of the beak. Cere and beak are dark grey. Ear-tufts are short, and only prominent when
erected.
Upperparts are greyish to brownish grey with blackish shaft-streaks and dark
horizontal branches, also with fine wavy patterns. The crown and back have broad
blackish shaft-streaks and dark vermiculations. Scapulars have white outer webs
with blackish edges, forming a white line across the shoulder. Wings and tail
feathers are barred light and dark. Underparts are lighter than the upperparts,
with broad, blackish shaft-streaks, especially on the upper breast.
Legs are feathered to the base of the bristled, greyish-brown toes. Talons are
greyish-horn with darker tips.
Red Morph - Similar to grey morph but less prominently patterned, and with
general colouration rufous.
Size: Length: 16.5-19cm. Wing: 13.9-16cm. Tail: 7.1-9.1 cm.
Weight: Male: 70-105g. Female: 79-121g.
Habits: Nocturnal. Shelters during the day close to a tree
trunk or in dense foliage.
Voice: A-song is a series of equally spaced hoots bububububububub,
mostly with emphasis on the third note, slightly falling in pitch at the end.
B-song is a hollow hooting, often uttered in duet with female: bububup,
buru-bububup, similar to morse-code. The female's voice is slightly higher
in pitch.
Hunting & Food: Preys mainly on insects and other
arthropods, such as grasshoppers, locusts, praying mantises, crickets, beetles,
moths, spiders and caterpillars. Will also take small vertebrates. Hunts insects
by foraging between branches, less frequently from a perch.
Breeding: Little known. Nests in natural cavity, mostly
abandoned woodpecker holes. 3-4 white eggs (average 33x27.6mm) are laid and
incubated by the female alone. This probably happens during April. Male brings
food to the nest during this time. After the young have hatched, the female shares the hunting. These birds are apparently very territorial, with territories averaging about 300 metres in diameter.
Mortality: Unknown. Probably similar to other Screech Owls.
Habitat: Mountain forest (pine-oak woodland) from 750 - 2500
metres, usually above 1600 m.
Distribution: South east Arizona through Mexico to
Nicaragua.
Distribution of Megascops trichopsis
Status: Locally frequent.
Original Description: Wagler, Johann Georg. 1832. Isis von Oken, 25, col. 276-277.
Subspecies:
M. t. trichopsis,
M. t. aspersus,
M. t. mesamericanus
References:
Page Information:
Page compiled by Deane P. Lewis.
OwlPages.com Owl Species ID: 040.060.000 - Page last updated 2007-05-01
Typical call
