White-throated Screech Owl
| White-throated Screech Owl | ||||||||||
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Megascops albogularis |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Megascops albogularis | ||||||||||
| ( Cassin , 1849) |
The white-throated screech owl ( Megascops albogularis ) is a species from the family of real owls. It occurs in four subspecies exclusively in South America.
Appearance
With a body size of around 28 centimeters, the white-throated screech owl is a relatively large species within its genus. Feather ears are missing. The plumage is relatively dark and it sits very loosely on the head, so that the head appears relatively large and rounded. The chin and throat are whitish and contrast strikingly with the dark plumage. The delimitation of the face veil is only very indistinct or even completely absent.
The white-throated screech owl is unmistakable because of its bright throat. It also differs from other screech owls such as the Koepcke screech owl , the mountain forest and cloud forest screech owl in terms of its vocal expression.
voice
The sound repertoire of the Weißkehl screech owl is very variable. A typical call sequence of the male consists of even calls, slowly decreasing in pitch. There are around four to five calls per second. This phrase is repeated approximately five to 10 seconds apart. Another sequence of calls is a chu-churrochuroo-chuchorro-churrochurro-gugugugugug .
distribution and habitat
The distribution area of the white-throated screech owl are the Andean forests from Colombia and northwest Venezuela via Ecuador and Peru to Bolivia. She is probably a resident. Their habitat are rainforests and cloud forests at altitudes between 1,300 and 3,600 meters above sea level. Typically it populates dense forests with a rich epiphyte growth or dense bamboo thickets. At very high altitudes, it also occurs in semi-open terrain, if at least small forests can still be found.
Way of life
The white-throated screech owl is a nocturnal species of owl. It mainly eats insects and, to a lesser extent, small vertebrates. Otherwise their way of life has not been adequately investigated. Their existence has not yet been conclusively investigated either. In Peru and Ecuador it is a relatively common species. In other regions it is probably not seen very often because of its hidden way of life at high altitudes.
supporting documents
Single receipts
literature
- Claus König , Friedhelm Weick: Owls of the World . Christopher Helm, London 2008, ISBN 978-0-7136-6548-2 .
Web links
- Megascops albogularis inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved September 7, 2013.