Chocó screech owl

The Chocó screech owl (Megascops centralis) is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found in humid lowland forests in western Ecuador, western Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica.[1][2] As suggested by its name, a large part of its range is in the Chocó.[3]

Chocó screech owl
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Strigiformes
Family: Strigidae
Genus: Megascops
Species:
M. centralis
Binomial name
Megascops centralis
(Hekstra, 1982)
Synonyms

Otus centralis
Megascops guatemalae centralis

It is replaced in South America east of the Andes by the foothill screech owl (M. roraimae), and from Costa Rica and north by the Middle American screech owl (M. guatemalae).[1][2] The Chocó screech owl is considered a distinct species by some authorities, including the International Ornithologists' Union. Other taxonomic authorities, including the American Ornithological Society, include a larger conspecific group with this species including the foothill screech owl, the Middle American screech owl, and the vermiculated screech owl. When conspecific, the English name vermiculated screech owl is used for the entire group, but M. guatemalae is used for the scientific name since it is older.[4] Others have omitted it entirely (neither recognized as a species nor a subspecies).[5] The foothill screech owl, Middle American screech owl and Chocó screech owl are very similar in appearance, but easily separated by voice.[1][2]

References
  1. Hilty, S. L. (2003). Birds of Venezuela. 2nd edition. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-02131-7
  2. Ridgely, R. S., & Greenfield, P. J. (2001). The Birds of Ecuador. Cornell University Press. ISBN 0-7136-6116-X (vol. 1), ISBN 0-7136-6117-8 (vol. 2).
  3. Restall, R. L., Rodner, C., & Lentino, M. (2006). Birds of Northern South America. Christopher Helm. ISBN 0-7136-7243-9 (vol. 1). ISBN 0-7136-7242-0 (vol. 2).
  4. Robbins, M. B. (2001) Continue to recognize a broad Otus guatemalae (namely to include O. vermiculatus, O. napensis, O roraimae) Archived 2010-06-28 at the Wayback Machine. South American Classification Committee. Accessed 25 January 2011.
  5. Holt, Berkley, Deppe, Enríquez Rocha, Petersen, Rangel Salazar, Segras, & Wood (1999). Guatemalan Screech Owl (Otus guatemalae) and Vermiculated Screech Owl (Otus vermiculatus). Pp. 180 in: del Hoy, Elliott, & Sargatal. Eds. (1999) Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 5. Barn-owls to Hummingbirds. Lynx Edicions. ISBN 84-87334-25-3
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