Alternative name: Hoy's Screech-Owl; Yungas Screech-Owl
- Megascops hoyi
Otus hoyi
Identification
23-24 cm: a medium size Screech-Owl. Occurs in three color morphs, brown, grey and red. A pair of presumably brown morph birds was described as this: they show very small ear tufts, and wings almost reach the end of the tail. Eye-brows are pale, but not white, while the area under the eyes, and above the bill is dark. The belly is boldly marked with thick, cross hatched vertical stripes, and the upper breast is brown but somewhat variable. The bill is pale and eyes are yellow.
Distribution
Eastern slope of Andes and neighboring mountains in north west Argentina and southern half of Bolivia.
Taxonomy
This and almost all Screech-Owls in the Americas have previously been considered to belong in the same genus (Otus) as the European and Asian Scops-Owls, but a reassignment to Megascops have been accepted by, among other authorities, the American Ornithologists' Union.
Habitat
Moist and dense montane forests at 1-3000 m asl.
Behaviour
Depends on trees with holes for breeding.
Food is mainly insects and other invertebrates with small numbers of vertebrates included.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, B.L. Sullivan, C. L. Wood, and D. Roberson. 2012. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to October 2012. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
- König, C. and F. Weick 2008. Owls of the World, second edition. Christopher Helm, London. ISBN 978-0-7136-6548-2
- Birdforum thread with description of this species
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Montane Forest Screech-Owl. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 27 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Montane_Forest_Screech-Owl
