Spectacled Owl
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| Spectacled Owl | ||||||||||||||
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| Pulsatrix perspicillata (Latham, 1790) |
The Spectacled Owl, Pulsatrix perspicillata, is a large tropical owl. It is a resident breeder from southern Mexico and Trinidad south to southern Brazil, Paraguay and northwestern Argentina. There are six subspecies.
This is a nocturnal species of mature forests. It nests in an unlined tree cavity, laying two white eggs. It preys on mammals and large insects, and will also take birds, including smaller owls.
The Spectacled Owl is 46 cm long and weighs 850 g. It is unmistakable with brown upperparts, head and upper breast, white facial markings and buff underparts. The eyes are yellow and the bill is pale. The juvenile is even more distinctive than the adult, being completely white apart from a chocolate brown facial disc.
The call is a deep hooting BOO Boo boo boo boo becoming softer and faster.
This owl is featured in a picture with a Hooters girl in the January 2008 edition of their calendar.
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (2004). Pulsatrix perspicillata. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 06 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
- A guide to the birds of Costa Rica by Stiles and Skutch ISBN 0-8014-9600-4
- Birds of Venezuela by Hilty, ISBN 0-7136-6418-5
- ffrench, Richard (1991). A Guide to the Birds of Trinidad and Tobago, 2nd edition, Comstock Publishing. ISBN 0-8014-9792-2.
[edit] External links
- Stamps (for Belize, Honduras, Paraguay, and Suriname); Stamp-photo
- Spectacled Owl photo gallery VIREO Photo-High Res
- Spectacled Owl videos on the Internet Bird Collection
