Vermiculated screech owl

{{Subspeciesbox | image = Vermiculated Screech-Owl.jpg | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name=IUCN>{{cite iucn|url=https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/61769583/95179648 |title=Vermiculated Screech-owl ''Megascops vermiculatus'' |author=BirdLife International |author-link=BirdLife International |year=2016 |access-date=5 August 2021}}</ref> | status2 = CITES_A2 | status2_system = CITES | status2_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 = guatemalae | subspecies = vermiculatus | authority = ([[Robert Ridgway|Ridgway]], 1887) | synonyms = ''Megascops guatemalae vermiculatus'' | range_map = Megascops vermiculatus map.svg }}

The '''vermiculated screech owl''' ('''''Megascops guatemalae vermiculatus'''''), is a subspecies of [[Middle American screech owl]], or possibly separate species of [[owl]] in the family [[Strigidae]]. It is found in [[Costa Rica]], [[Nicaragua]], and [[Panama]].<ref name=IOC13.2>{{cite web |url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/bow/owls/ |title=Owls |website=IOC World Bird List |version =v 13.2 |editor-last1=Gill |editor-first1= F. |editor-last2=Donsker|editor-first2=D.|editor-last3=Rasmussen |editor-first3=P. |date=July 2023 |access-date=July 31, 2023 }}</ref><ref name=HBW7>HBW and BirdLife International (2022) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 7. Available at: https://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v7_Dec22.zip retrieved December 13, 2022</ref>

==Taxonomy and systematics==

The taxonomy of the vermiculated screech owl is unsettled. The North American Classification Committee of the [[American Ornithological Society]] (AOS/NACC), the [[International Ornithological Committee]] (IOC), and the [[Clements taxonomy]] treat it as a subspecies of the [[Middle American screech owl]] (''M. guatemalae'').<ref name=IOC13.2/><ref name=NACC2023>Chesser, R. T., S. M. Billerman, K. J. Burns, C. Cicero, J. L. Dunn, B. E. Hernández-Baños, R. A. Jiménez, A. W. Kratter, N. A. Mason, P. C. Rasmussen, J. V. Remsen, Jr., and K. Winker. 2023. Check-list of North American Birds (online). American Ornithological Society. https://checklist.americanornithology.org/taxa/</ref><ref name=Clements2022>Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ retrieved November 10, 2022</ref> [[BirdLife International]]'s ''[[Handbook of the Birds of the World]]'' treats it as a separate species.<ref name=HBW7/>

What is now the [[foothill screech owl]] (''M. roraimae'') was once considered a subspecies of the vermiculated screech owl.<ref name=IOC13.2/>

==Description==

The vermiculated screech owl is {{convert|20|to|23|cm|in|abbr=on}} long and weighs {{convert|91|to|128|g|oz|abbr=on}}. It is [[Polymorphism (biology)|dimorphic]], with one morph brown and the other overall [[rufous]]. Unlike most other owls of the same genus, it has feathered feet. The brown morph has a light brown [[facial disc]] with a thin dark border, indistinct pale brows over yellow eyes, and short dark "ear" tufts. Its crown and upperparts range from grayish brown to buffy brown with fine uniform [[vermiculation]]s. The underparts are whitish with dense fine brown and black vermiculation. The beak is gray-green. The rufous morph is bright rufous on its head and upperparts.<ref name=VESO-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, and J. S. Marks (2020). Middle American Screech-Owl (''Megascops guatemalae''), 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.vesowl.01 retrieved August 5, 2021</ref>

==Distribution and habitat==

The vermiculated screech-owl is found from far southern Nicaragua through the Caribbean side of Costa Rica into western Panama. It inhabits humid forest from sea level to about {{convert|1200|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref name=VESO-BOW/>

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

Almost nothing is known about the vermiculated screech owl's hunting practices or diet. It is presumed to mostly eat large insects but also small vertebrates.<ref name=VESO-BOW/>

===Breeding===

The vermiculated screech owl's breeding [[phenology]] is also very poorly known. It nests in a natural tree cavity or abandoned woodpecker hole, apparently in March. The clutch size is thought to be three.<ref name=VESO-BOW/>

===Vocalization===

{{birdsong|url=https://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Megascops-vermiculatus |species=vermiculated screech owl}} The vermiculated screech owl's primary song is a "very fast, long, toad-like trill". Its probable secondary song is "a very brief descending purr".<ref name=VESO-BOW/>

==Status==

The [[IUCN]] has assessed the vermiculated screech owl as being of Least Concern.<ref name=IUCN/> However, because it needs unbroken forest, "[f]orest destruction a threat, at least in long term."<ref name=VESO-BOW/>

==References== {{reflist}}

==Further reading==

* König, C., F. Weick & J.H. Becking (2008) ''Owls of the World''. Christopher Helm, London, {{ISBN|978-0-7136-6548-2}}

[[Category:Megascops|vermiculated screech owl]] [[Category:Birds of Costa Rica]] [[Category:Birds of Panama]] [[Category:Birds of Nicaragua]] [[Category:Birds described in 1887|vermiculated screech owl]] [[Category:Taxa named by Robert Ridgway]]