Ciccaba vs. Strix
Most authorities (Sibley & Monroe, 1996) retain Mottled Owl (virgata), Black-and-white Owl (nigrolineata), Black-banded Owl (huhula), and Rufous-banded Owl (albitarsis) in the genus Strix. König et al. state that the general morphology and phylogenetic evidence of these four species does not indicate separation from the rest of Strix, and Restall goes on to explain that they were originally separated into the genus Ciccaba based on anatomy of the external ear. As Clements (2022) and IOC (2022) also place these species in Strix, the Opus follows.
