Cinnamon screech owl
| Cinnamon screech owl | ||||||||||
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Cinnamon Screech Owl ( Megascops petersoni ) |
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| Megascops petersoni | ||||||||||
| ( Fitzpatrick & O'Neill , 1986) |
The cinnamon screech owl ( Megascops petersoni ) is a species from the family of real owls. It occurs exclusively in South America. The specific epithet honors the American ornithologist Roger Tory Peterson .
Appearance
With a body size of about 21 centimeters, the cinnamon screech owl is a relatively small species within its genus. It has a reddish-brown or cinnamon-colored plumage and short to medium-long feather ears . The bottom of the body is slightly paler than the top of the body. The legs are feathered down to the toes.
It can be confused with the Colombian screech owl , which is about 15 percent larger and speckled on its chest and stomach. The Salvin screech owl has grayer plumage and is the same size as the Colombia screech owl. The Rio Napo screech owl has a reddish-brown color morph, which is similar in plumage to the cinnamon screech owl. However, this species is densely speckled on the underside of the body and has yellow eyes.
distribution and habitat
The distribution area of the cinnamon screech owl is relatively small. It occurs only on the east side of the Andes from southern Ecuador to the north of Peru. To what extent it also occurs on the eastern slopes of the Colombian Andes is questionable. It is a resident bird that inhabits damp secondary forests with dense undergrowth and a great wealth of epiphytes. The height distribution ranges from 1,690 meters to 2,450 meters.
Way of life
The cinnamon screech owl is an exclusively nocturnal species of owl. Their food spectrum consists mainly of insects. Occasionally, however, it also strikes smaller vertebrates. Their reproductive biology has not yet been adequately studied. It probably breeds before the dry season in July and August.
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 peter soni in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2012. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2012. Accessed September 2, 2013.