Mottled Owl (Ciccaba virgata)

Identification & Behavior: ~32.5 cm (13 in). The Mottled Owl is dusky brown above. The belly is tawny with dusky streaks. The facial discs are fringed with buffy-white. It forages in the interior of Amazonian forests. It is similar to the closely related Rufous-banded Owl but is distinguished by being darker overall, ranging at lower elevations, and by having streaks on the underparts rather than heavily mottled in the Rufous-banded Owl.

Status: The Mottled Owl is uncommon in the interior forest of Amazonia ranging at elevations below 1150 m along the foothill of the Andes. It also occurs in the semi-deciduous forests of Tumbes below 900 m meters. The Mottled Owl also occurs in Co, Ec, Br, and Bo.

Name in Spanish: Búho Café.

Sub-species: Mottled Owl (Ciccaba virgata superciliaris), Pelzeln, 1863.

Meaning of Name: Ciccaba: Gr. Kikkabe= a sort of owl mentioned by Aristophanes and Hesychius. virgata: L. Virgata, virga= striped, streaked, stripe.

See more of the Family Strigidae