Foothill screech owl


The foothill screech owl is considered a distinct species by some authorities, including the International Ornithologists' Union. It is found in forests and dense second growth at altitudes of in northern and western South America. Its [|taxonomy] is extremely complex and a matter of dispute.

Taxonomy

All screech owls were formerly included in the genus Otus, but today they are placed in Megascops.
Some taxonomic authorities, including the American Ornithological Society, include a larger conspecific group with this species including the Chocó screech owl, the Middle American screech owl, and the vermiculated screech owl. When conspecific, the English name vermiculated screech owl is used for the entire group, but M. guatemalae is used for the scientific name since it is older.
As there are significant vocal differences between the various populations, and voices are of great importance in species-level taxonomy in owls, it is difficult to justify keeping them all together). There appear to be few, if any, vocal differences between populations in northern Venezuela, the Tepuis and the lower east Andean foothills, and the split between the "Middle American" song, a long trill, and the "Chocó" song, a short trill, appears to be in Costa Rica. As such, the Napo screech owl was lumped in 2018.

Appearance

The foothill screech owl has a total length between, with a wing length of between. Its tail is typically around in length, and its beak is a bit more than. Its tarsus is. The plumage of the Roraiman screech owl is dimorphic: one morph is overall grayish-brown and the other is overall rufous.