Chocó Screech Owl

Chocó Screech Owl
Conservation status
Not recognized (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Strigiformes
Family:	Strigidae
Genus:	Megascops
Species:	M. centralis
Binomial name
Megascops centralis (Hekstra, 1982)
Synonyms
Otus centralis

The Chocó Screech Owl (Megascops centralis) is a species of owl in the Strigidae family. It is found in humid lowland forests in western Ecuador, western Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica.^[1][2] As suggested by its name, a large part of its range is in the Chocó.^[3]

It is replaced in South America east of the Andes by the Roraiman Screech Owl (M. roraimae), and from Costa Rica and north by the Middle American Screech Owl (M. guatemalae).^[1][2] The Chocó Screech Owl was originally described as a subspecies of the latter and some maintain this treatment,^[4] but inexplicably others have omitted it entirely (neither recognized as a species nor a subspecies).^[5] The Roraiman Screech Owl, Middle American Screech Owl and Chocó Screech Owl are very similar in appearance, but easily separated by voice.^[1][2][4]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Hilty, S. L. (2003). Birds of Venezuela. 2nd edition. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-02131-7
2. ^ ^{a b c} Ridgely, R. S., & Greenfield, P. J. (2001). The Birds of Ecuador. Cornell University Press. ISBN 071366116X (vol. 1), ISBN 0713661178 (vol. 2).
3. ^ Restall, R. L., Rodner, C., & Lentino, M. (2006). Birds of Northern South America. Christopher Helm. ISBN 0-7136-7243-9 (vol. 1). ISBN 0-7136-7242-0 (vol. 2).
4. ^ ^{a b} Robbins, M. B. (2001) Continue to recognize a broad Otus guatemalae (namely to include O. vermiculatus, O. napensis, O roraimae). South American Classification Committee. Accessed 25 January 2011.
5. ^ Holt, Berkley, Deppe, Enríquez Rocha, Petersen, Rangel Salazar, Segras, & Wood (1999). Guatemalan Screech Owl (Otus guatemalae) and Vermiculated Screech Owl (Otus vermiculatus). Pp. 180 in: del Hoy, Elliott, & Sargatal. Eds. (1999) Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 5. Barn-owls to Hummingbirds. Lynx Edicions. ISBN 84-87334-25-3