Spectacled Owl (Pulsatrix perspicillata)

Identification & Behavior: ~45.5 cm (18 in). The Spectacled Owl is dark brown with an unmarked tawny belly. The broad tawny eyebrows and mustache give the appearance of spectacles. The iris is yellow. The juvenile is white with black facial discs. It inhabits interior forests in Amazonia. The Spectacled Owl is similar to the closely related Band-bellied Owl but is distinguished by larger size, an unmarked tawny belly, and by ranging at lower elevations.

Status: The Spectacled Owl is uncommon in the interior forest of Amazonia ranging at elevations of up to 1150 m along the foothill of the Andes. It also occurs in the semi-deciduous forests of Tumbes below 900 m meters.

Name in Spanish: Búho de Anteojos.

Sub-species: Spectacled Owl (Pulsatrix perspicillata chapmani), Griscom, 1932. W Colombia, W Ecuador and NW Peru.
(P. p. perspicillata), Latham, 1790. Amazonian Brazil, and from E Colombia S to N Bolivia.

Meaning of Name: Pulsatrix: L. pulsatrix= beater, pusher, attacker. perspicillata: L. perspicillatum, perspicilatus= goggles, see through.

See more of the Family Strigidae