- Rufescent Screech Owl
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Rufescent Screech Owl Conservation status Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Strigiformes Family: Strigidae Genus: Megascops Species: M. ingens Binomial name Megascops ingens
(Salvin, 1897)Synonyms Otus ingens (Salvin, 1897)
The Rufescent Screech Owl (Megascops ingens) is a species of owl in the Strigidae family. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. This is one of the larger species of screech owls, similar in size to the White-throated Screech Owl. The overall length is 25 to 29 cm (10-11.5 in) and weight in males is 134-190 grams (4.7-6.7 oz) and 140-273 grams (5-9.6 oz) in females. It is sandy-brown above, vermiculated darker, the facial disc is sandy-brown, without a distinct rim. The flight feathers are barred cinnamon and dusky and the tail is cinnamon with darker brown bars. The hindcrown has buffy-whitish border. It has honey-brown eyes and small ear-tufts. The tarsi are feathered to the base of the toes.
Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, from elevations of 1,200 to 2,500 m.This relatively powerful bird is a strictly nocturnal bird that becomes active at dusk. During the daytime it mostly roosts among epiphytes on thick branches. Little is known about the life history of this bird. Larger insects and spiders are taken, as well as small vertebrates. The reproductive biology requires study but it is known to nest in natural holes in trees where pure white eggs are laid directly on the bottom of the cavity. It is not considered a threatened species by the IUCN.
References
- BirdLife International 2004. Megascops ingens. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 24 July 2007.
- "Owls: A Guide to the Owls of the World" by Claus Konig, Friedhelm Welck & Jan-Hendrik Becking. Yale University Press (1999), ISBN 978-0300079203.
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