Middle American Screech-Owl

The Middle American screech owl is 20 to 23 cm (7.9 to 9.1 in) long and weighs 95 to 150 g (3.4 to 5.3 oz). It is dimorphic, with one morph overall grayish-brown and the other overall rufous. Unlike other owls of the same genus, it has feathered feet. The brown morph has a light brown facial disc with a thin dark border, thin white brows over yellow eyes, and short dark "ear" tufts. Its crown and upperparts range from dark gray brown to blackish brown; the crown has blackish spots and bars and the back has darker streaks and vermiculations. The fairly long tail is barred. The underparts are paler with conspicuous longitudinal stripes and some horizontal stripes. The beak is greenish. The rufous morph is overall reddish and the various streaks and stripes are less distinct. The various subspecies are similar, differing mainly in size (which increases north to south) and the intensity of the colors.

The six subspecies of Middle American screech owl recognized by the IOC are found thus:

M. g. hastatus, western Mexico from Sonora and Chihuahua south to Sinaloa and Oaxaca M. g. cassini, eastern Mexico from Tamaulipas south to northern Veracruz M. g. fuscus, central Veracruz M. g. guatemalae, from southeastern Veracruz and northeastern Oaxaca (including the Yucatán Peninsula and Cozumel Island) south through Belize and Guatemala into Honduras M. g. dacrysistactus, northern Nicaragua M. g. vermiculatus, extreme eastern Nicaragua through Costa Rica into western Panama The Yucatán and Cozumel populations of guatemalae are treated as M. g. thompsoni by the AOS/NACC and Clements. The Middle American screech owl inhabits several types of humid to semi-arid landscapes including evergreen, semi-deciduous, and thorn forest, and to a lesser extent secondary forest and plantations. In elevation it ranges from sea level to 1,500 m (4,900 ft).

The Middle American screech owl is nocturnal; it hunts mostly by swooping on prey from a perch and also by catching it in flight. Its diet is mostly large insects but sometimes includes small vertebrates.