| Foothill screech owl | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Strigiformes |
| Family: | Strigidae |
| Genus: | Megascops |
| Species: | M. roraimae |
| Binomial name | |
| Megascops roraimae (Salvin, 1897) | |
 | |
| Synonyms | |
Otus roraimae | |
The foothill screech owl (Megascops roraimae) is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela. [2]
The foothill screech owl's taxonomy has undergone numerous changes. It has variously been treated as embedded in or a subspecies of the original Otus guatemalae and then as a subspecies of O. vermiculatus when that was split from O. guatemalae. In the early 2000s all of the New World members of Otus were assigned to Megascops. [3] [4] As of 2019, the International Ornithological Committee (IOC), the North and South American Classification Committees of the American Ornithological Society (AOS), and the Clements taxonomy treat it as a separate species, Megascops roraimae. [2] [5] [4] [6] However, BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World treats it as being embedded within M. vermiculatus vermiculatus, the nominate subspecies of vermiculated screech owl. [7] [8]
The IOC recognizes three subspecies, the nominate Megascops roraimae roraimae, M. r. pallidus, and M. r. napensis. The Clements taxonomy recognizes two more, M. r. helleri and M. r. bolivianus, that the IOC includes within napensis. [2] [6]
The foothill 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). The subspecies are reddish brown to brown with paler bellies, and most have both a pale and a dark morph. The intensity of the reddish cast varies among the subspecies as do the amount and pattern of streaks and spots on the upperparts and vermiculation on the underparts. [3]
The subspecies of the foothill screech owl are found thus: [6]
The foothill screech owl inhabits dense humid to wet rainforest, though exact details have not been documented. In elevation it mostly ranges between 250 and 1,500 m (820 and 4,920 ft) and rarely up to 1,800 m (5,900 ft). [3]
The foothill screech owl's hunting practices have not been documented. Its diet is mostly insects and other arthropods and perhaps includes small vertebrates. [3]
The foothill screech owl's breeding phenology has not been documented. It is assumed to nest in tree cavities, either natural or made by another bird, like others of its genus. [3]
The foothill screech owl's song is a "wavering trill" similar to that of the Middle American screech owl (M. guatemalae). It "starts quietly, gradually incrasing in volume and pitch, then dropping slightly in pitch but with steady volume [and] decreases in volume near [the] end." [3]
The IUCN has not assessed the status of the foothill screech owl as a separate species, but includes it with the Middle American screech owl (M. guatemalae). It appears to favor intact forest, so "forest destruction [is] undoubtedly a real threat". [3]
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The western emerald is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Colombia and Ecuador.
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Geoffroy's daggerbill, Geoffroy's wedgebill, or eastern wedge-billed hummingbird is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
The rufous nightjar is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guyana, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Lucia, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.
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The rufous-banded owl is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
The Central American pygmy owl is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found in Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama.
The tropical screech owl is a small species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found in Costa Rica, Panama, Trinidad, and every mainland South American country.
The Middle American screech owl, also known as the Guatemalan screech owl, is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found from northern Mexico to western Panama.
The Yungas screech owl, also known as montane forest screech-owl and Hoy's screech owl, is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found in Argentina and Bolivia.
The long-tufted screech owl is a species of "typical owl" in the subfamily Striginae. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay.
The ocellated woodcreeper is a species of bird in the subfamily Dendrocolaptinae of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
Screech owls are typical owls (Strigidae) belonging to the genus Megascops with 23 living species. For most of the 20th century, this genus was merged with the Old World scops owls in Otus, but nowadays it is again considered separately based on a range of behavioral, biogeographical, morphological, and DNA sequence data.
The gartered trogon, also known as the northern violaceous trogon, is a bird in the family Trogonidae, the quetzals and trogons. It is found in Mexico, all of Central America, and Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
Tschudi's woodcreeper is a passerine bird native to South America. It belongs to the genus Xiphorhynchus in the woodcreeper subfamily, Dendrocolaptinae. It is usually regarded as a subspecies of the ocellated woodcreeper. It is named after Johann Jakob von Tschudi, the Swiss explorer and naturalist who first described the bird.
The Amazonian trogon, is a species of bird in the family Trogonidae, the trogons and quetzals. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
The Chocó screech owl is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found from central Panama to western Ecuador.
The vermiculated screech owl, is a subspecies, or possibly separate species, of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama.
