Designed by Paul Smith 2006. This website is copyrighted by law.
Material contained herewith may not be used without the prior written permission of FAUNA Paraguay.
Material on this page was provided by Paul Smith, Myriam Velázquez and Ronald Hoff and is used with permission.
BLACK-CAPPED SCREECH-OWL Megascops atricapillus ATLANTIC FOREST
This uncommon small owl is found in undisturbed Atlantic Forest where it is generally outnumbered by the commoner Tropical Screech-owl. The two species vocalise quite differently but if you stumble across a perched bird then initially the identification might seem more confusing. One easy way to tell the difference without scrutinising the plumage in dim light is to look at the colour of the eyes - they are brown in this species and yellow in the Tropical.
Click on the images to enlarge them.
FIGURE 1 - (FPAVE2582PH) Adult, Mbaracayú Biosphere Reserve, Departamento Canindeyú (Ronald Hoff October 2004).
FIGURE 2 - (FPAVE3640PH) Adult ventral, Mbaracayú Biosphere Reserve, Departamento Canindeyú (Paul Smith October 2012).
FIGURE 3 - (FPAVE3641PH) Same individual as (FPAVE3640PH) lateral (Paul Smith October 2012).
FIGURE 4 - (FPAVE3642PH) Same individual as (FPAVE3640PH) dorsal (Paul Smith October 2012).
VIDEO A - (FPAVE3643VI) Same individual as (FPAVE3640PH) dorsal (Paul Smith October 2012).
VIDEO B - (FPAVE3356VI) Adult rufous phase by day, PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Paul Smith March 2007).
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Megascops atricapillus
1 (FPAVE2587RE) Call recorded Itabó Itaipú Reserve, Departamento Alto Paraná (Myriam Velázquez September 2003).
Click the link to hear the call. Longer versions of this call can be downloaded from the Paraguay page of our partner website www.xeno-canto.com - the largest collection of freely downloadable Neotropical bird calls available online.