Foothill screech owl

{{speciesbox | image =Megascops roraimae.jpg | status = CITES_A2 | status_system = CITES | status_ref = <ref>{{Cite web|title=Appendices {{!}} CITES|url=https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php|access-date=2022-01-14|website=cites.org}}</ref> | genus = Megascops | species = roraimae | authority = (Salvin, 1897) | synonyms = ''Otus roraimae''<br>''Megascops guatemalae roraimae''

| range_map = Megascops roraimae map.svg

}}

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.<ref name=IOC11.2>{{cite web |url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/ |title=IOC World Bird List (v 11.2) |last1=Gill |first1= F. |last2=Donsker|first2=D.|last3=Rasmussen |first3=P. |date=July 2021 |access-date=July 14, 2021 }}</ref>

==Taxonomy and systematics==

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''.<ref name=FOSO-BOW>Holt, D. W., R. Berkley, C. Deppe, P. L. Enríquez, J. L. Petersen, J. L. Rangel Salazar, K. P. Segars, K. L. Wood, G. M. Kirwan, J. S. Marks, and H. F. Greeney (2020). Foothill Screech-Owl (''Megascops roraimae''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, B. K. Keeney, P. G. Rodewald, and T. S. Schulenberg, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.foosco1.01 retrieved August 8, 2021</ref><ref name=SACClist>Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 23 May 2021. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved May 24, 2021</ref> 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''.<ref name=IOC11.2/><ref name=NACC>{{cite web |url=http://checklist.aou.org/taxa |title=Check-list of North and Middle American Birds |author= |date=July 14, 2021 |publisher=American Ornithological Society |access-date=July 14, 2021 }}</ref><ref name=SACClist/><ref name=Clements>Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ Retrieved August 15, 2019</ref> 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.<ref name=HBW2020>HBW and BirdLife International (2020) ''Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world'' Version 5. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v5_Dec20.zip [.xls zipped 1 MB] retrieved May 27, 2021</ref><ref name=HBW2020notes>HBW and BirdLife International (2020) ''Taxonomic notes to accompany the Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world'' Version 5. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v5_Dec20.zip [.xls zipped 1 MB]. retrieved May 27, 2021</ref>

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''.<ref name=IOC11.2/><ref name=Clements/>

==Description==

The foothill screech owl is {{convert|20|to|23|cm|in|abbr=on}} long and weighs {{convert|91|to|128|g|oz|abbr=on}}. 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.<ref name=FOSO-BOW/>

==Distribution and habitat==

The subspecies of the foothill screech owl are found thus:<ref name=Clements/>

*''M. r. roraimae'', Guianan Shield tepuis of southern Venezuela, southern Guyana, Suriname, and adjacent northern Brazil *''M. r. pallidus'', coastal mountains of northern Venezuela *''M. r. napensis'', Andean foothills of Venezuela, eastern Colombia, and eastern Ecuador *''M. r. helleri'', eastern Peru *''M. r. bolivianus'', northern Bolivia

The foothill screech owl inhabits dense humid to wet rainforest, though exact details have not been documented. In elevation it mostly ranges between {{convert|250|and|1500|m|ft|abbr=on}} and rarely up to {{convert|1800|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref name=FOSO-BOW/>

==Behavior== ===Feeding===

The foothill screech owl's hunting practices have not been documented. Its diet is mostly insects and other arthropods and perhaps includes small vertebrates.<ref name=FOSO-BOW/>

===Breeding===

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.<ref name=FOSO-BOW/>

===Vocalization===

{{birdsong|url=https://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Megascops-roraimae |species=foothill screech owl}} 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 increasing in volume and pitch, then dropping slightly in pitch but with steady volume [and] decreases in volume near [the] end."<ref name=FOSO-BOW/>

==Status==

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".<ref name=FOSO-BOW/>

==References== {{reflist}}

==Further reading==

*{{cite book | last1 =König | first1 =C. | last2 =Weick | first2 =F. |last3 =Becking | first3 =J.H. | title =Owls | publisher =Pica Press | date =1999 | isbn =978-0-300-07920-3}} *{{cite book | last =Weick | first =F. | title =Owls (Strigiformes): Annotated and Illustrated Checklist | publisher =Springer | date =2006 | isbn =3-540-35234-1 }} *{{cite book | last =Hilty | first =S.L. | title =Birds of Venezuela | publisher =Princeton University Press | edition =2 | date =2003 | isbn =0-691-02131-7 }} *{{cite book | last1 =Ridgeley | first1 =R.S. | last2 =Greenfield | first2 =P.J. | title =The Birds of Ecuador | publisher =Cornell University Press | volume =1 | date =2001 | isbn =0-7136-6116-X }} *{{cite book | last1 =Ridgeley | first1 =R.S. | last2 =Greenfield | first2 =P.J. | title =The Birds of Ecuador | publisher =Cornell University Press | volume =2 | date =2001 | isbn =0-7136-6117-8 }} *{{cite book | last1 =Restall | first1 =R.L. | last2 =Rodner | first2 =C. |last3 =Lentino | first3 =M. | title =Birds of Northern South America | publisher =Christopher Helm |volume =1 | date =2006 | isbn =0-7136-7243-9}} *{{cite book | last1 =Restall | first1 =R.L. | last2 =Rodner | first2 =C. |last3 =Lentino | first3 =M. | title =Birds of Northern South America | publisher =Christopher Helm |volume =2 | date =2006 | isbn =0-7136-7242-0}}

Foothill screech owl Category:Birds of the Northern Andes Category:Birds of the Serranía del Perijá Foothill screech owl Foothill screech owl Category:Birds of the Tepuis