Puerto Rican owl

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Puerto Rican owl
Megascops nudipes-Mucarito-Screech Owl of Puerto Rico.jpeg
Gymnasio nudipes over a Delonix regia tree
Megascops nudipes newtoni.jpg
Gymnasio nudipes newtoni

Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Strigiformes
Family: Strigidae
Genus: Gymnasio
Bonaparte, 1854
Species:
G. nudipes
Binomial name
Gymnasio nudipes
(Daudin, 1800)
Subspecies

G. n. nudipes
G. n. newtoni

Megascops nudipes map.svg

The Puerto Rican owl (Gymnasio nudipes) or múcaro (Spanish via Taino), formerly known as the Puerto Rican screech owl, is a nocturnal endemic owl of the archipelago of Puerto Rico. It is the only species placed in the genus Gymnasio of the family Strigidae. The subspecies G. n. newtoni, which was endemic to the Virgin Islands, was locally referred to as the cuckoo bird.

Taxonomy[]

The Puerto Rican owl was formally described in 1800 by the French zoologist François Marie Daudin from specimens collected in Puerto Rico. He coined the binomial name Strix nudipes.[2] The species was subsequently placed either in the genus Otus with the scops owls[3] or in Megascops with the screech owls. It is now the only species assigned to the genus Gymnasio that was introduced in 1854 specifically for the Puerto Rican owl by Charles Lucien Bonaparte.[4][5][6] The genus name combines the Ancient Greek gumnos meaning "bare" or "naked" with the Latin asio, a type of eared owl. The specific epithet nudipes is Latin meaning "bare-footed".[7]

A species endemic to the Virgin Islands was described in 1860 by George Newbold Lawrence under the binomial Gymnoglaux newtoni.[8] This is treated as a subspecies of the Puerto Rican owl (Gymnasio nudipes newtoni), but the validity of a separate subspecies has been questioned.[9] The taxon is probably extinct as a survey of the Virgin Islands conducted in 1995 failed to detect any Puerto Rican owls.[10]

A molecular phylogenetic study of the owls published in 2019 found that the Puerto Rican owl is a sister species to the flammulated owl (Psiloscops flammeolus), a migratory species in North America.[11]

Description[]

The Puerto Rican owl is a small owl possessing a brown upperside, a light-brown to white underside, white brown lines and white eyebrows. Sexual dimorphism is minor in this species with females being slightly larger than males. It is usually 20 centimetres (7.9 in) to 23 centimetres (9.1 in) in length with a wingspan of 154 centimetres (61 in) to 171 centimetres (67 in) for both sexes, and weighs about 103 grams (3.6 oz) to 154 grams (5.4 oz).[12]

The species is common in the island of Puerto Rico but is extirpated at the nearby islands of Vieques and Culebra. As with the majority of birds in Puerto Rico it is believed to have been more abundant before the clearing of forests for agricultural development in the early 20th century. It inhabits forests with large hollowed trees such as the Caribbean National Forest.

The breeding season spans from April to June.[13] It nests in hollowed trunks and 1 or 2 eggs are deposited in each nest.[14]

The main diet of the species consists of large insects such as cockroaches and is complemented with coquí frog, anole lizards, geckos, small rodents, and small birds. The owl will sometimes regurgitate a mass of the undigested parts of its diet which are called pellets. The contents of the pellet include the exoskeletons of insects, indigestible plant matter, bones, fur, feathers, bills, claws, and teeth.

The species calls throughout the year while hidden in thick foliage, typically at dawn. The species makes a loud coo-coo call which is the reason for its common name in the Virgin Islands.

External audio
audio icon The Screeching Owl distinct calls may be heard here, from xeno-canto.org, retrieved 1.08.2018

Gallery[]

  • owl at the western municipality of Aguada

  • owlet

See also[]

Footnotes[]

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2012). "Megascops nudipes". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  2. ^ Daudin, François Marie (1800). Traité élémentaire et complet d'ornithologie, ou, Histoire naturelle des oiseaux (in French). 2. Paris: Chez L'Auteur. p. 199.
  3. ^ Peters, James Lee, ed. (1940). Check-List of Birds of the World. Volume 4. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 107. |volume= has extra text (help)
  4. ^ Bonaparte, Charles Lucien (1854). "Tableau des oiseaux de proie". Revue et Magasin de Zoologie Pure et Appliquée. 2nd (in French). 6: 530–544 [543].
  5. ^ Chesser, R.T.; Billerman, S.M.; Burns, K.J.; Cicero, C.; Dunn, J.L.; Kratter, A.W.; Lovette, I.J.; Mason, N.A.; Rasmussen, P.C.; Remsen, J.V.J.; Stotz, D.F.; Winker, K. (2020). "Sixty-first Supplement to the American Ornithological Society's Check-list of North American Birds". The Auk. 137 (ukaa030). doi:10.1093/auk/ukaa030.
  6. ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2021). "Owls". IOC World Bird List Version 11.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  7. ^ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp. 182, 276. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  8. ^ Lawrence, George Newbold (1860). "Notes on some Cuban birds, with descriptions of new species". Annals of the Lyceum of Natural History of New York. 7: 247-275 [259].
  9. ^ Pardieck, Keith; Myers, J; Pagan, Michelle (1996). "Surveys of Puerto Rican screech-owl populations in large-tract and fragmented forest habitats" (PDF). The Wilson Bulletin. 108 (4): 776–782. JSTOR 4163757.
  10. ^ Moreno, Jorge A. (1998). "Status of the Virgin Islands screech-owl" (PDF). Journal of Field Ornithology. 69 (4): 557–562. JSTOR 4514360.
  11. ^ Salter, J.F.; Oliveros, C.H.; Hosner, P.A.; Manthey, J.D.; Robbins, M.B.; Moyle, R.G.; Brumfield, R.T.; Faircloth, B.C. (2019). "Extensive paraphyly in the typical owl family (Strigidae)". The Auk. 137 (ukz070). doi:10.1093/auk/ukz070.
  12. ^ "Puerto Rican Screech Owl ~ Megascops nudipes". 15 October 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  13. ^ "The Owl Pages: Puerto Rican Screech Owl - Megascops nudipes". Retrieved May 20, 2006.
  14. ^ "Múcaro Común de Puerto Rico (in Spanish)". Retrieved August 1, 2018.

References[]

External links[]

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