Vermiculated screech owl

Vermiculated screech owl
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Strigiformes
Family:	Strigidae
Genus:	Megascops
Species:	M. vermiculatus
Binomial name
	Megascops vermiculatus; (Ridgway, 1887)
Synonyms
	Megascops guatemalae vermiculatus

The vermiculated screech owl (Megascops vermiculatus), is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama.^[2]

Taxonomy and systematics[]

The taxonomy of the vermiculated screech owl is somewhat unsettled. The International Ornithological Committee (IOC) recognizes it as a distinct monotypic species. However, the North American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society (AOS/NACC)) and the Clements taxonomy treat it as a subspecies of the Middle American screech owl (M. guatemalae). What is now the foothill screech owl (M. roraimae) was once considered a subspecies of the vermiculated screech owl. ^[2]^[3]^[4]

Description[]

The vermiculated screech owl is 20 to 23 cm (7.9 to 9.1 in) long and weighs 91 to 128 g (3.2 to 4.5 oz). It is dimorphic, with one morph brown and the other overall rufous. Unlike most other owls of the same genus, it has feathered feet. The brown morph has a light brown facial disc with a thin dark border, indistinct pale brows over yellow eyes, and short dark "ear" tufts. Its crown and upperparts range from grayish brown to buffy brown with fine uniform vermiculations. The underparts are whitish with dense fine brown and black vermiculation. The beak is gray-green. The rufous morph is bright rufous on its head and upperparts.^[5]

Distribution and habitat[]

The vermiculated screech-owl is found from far southern Nicaragua through the Caribbean side of Costa Rica into western Panama. It inhabits humid forest from sea level to about 1,200 m (3,900 ft).^[5]

Behavior[]

Feeding[]

Almost nothing is known about the vermiculated screech owl's hunting practices or diet. It is presumed to mostly eat large insects but also small vertebrates.^[5]

Breeding[]

The vermiculated screech owl's breeding phenology is also very poorly known. It nests in a natural tree cavity or abandoned woodpecker hole, apparently in March. The clutch size is thought to be three.^[5]

Vocalization[]

Songs and calls

Listen to vermiculated screech owl on xeno-canto

The vermiculated screech owl's primary song is a "very fast, long, toad-like trill". Its probable secondary song is "a very brief descending purr".^[5]

Status[]

The IUCN has assessed the vermiculated screech owl as being of Least Concern.^[1] However, because it needs unbroken forest, "[f]orest destruction a threat, at least in long term."^[5]

References[]

^ ^a ^b BirdLife International (2016). "Vermiculated Screech-owl Megascops vermiculatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
^ ^a ^b Gill, F.; Donsker, D.; Rasmussen, P. (July 2021). "IOC World Bird List (v 11.2)". Retrieved July 14, 2021.
^ "Check-list of North and Middle American Birds". American Ornithological Society. July 14, 2021. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
^ Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ Retrieved August 15, 2019
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Holt, D. W., R. Berkley, C. Deppe, P. L. Enríquez, J. L. Petersen, J. L. Rangel Salazar, K. P. Segars, K. L. Wood, G. M. Kirwan, and J. S. Marks (2020). Middle American Screech-Owl (Megascops guatemalae), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, B. K. Keeney, P. G. Rodewald, and T. S. Schulenberg, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.vesowl.01 retrieved August 5, 2021