Megascops albogularis

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Cladus: Avemetatarsalia
Cladus: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauriformes
Cladus: Dracohors
Cladus: Dinosauria
Cladus: Saurischia
Cladus: Eusaurischia
Subordo: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Cladus: Averostra
Cladus: Tetanurae
Cladus: Avetheropoda
Cladus: Coelurosauria
Cladus: Tyrannoraptora
Cladus: Maniraptoromorpha
Cladus: Maniraptoriformes
Cladus: Maniraptora
Cladus: Pennaraptora
Cladus: Paraves
Cladus: Eumaniraptora
Cladus: Avialae
Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Carinatae
Parvclassis: Neornithes
Cohors: Neognathae
Cladus: Neoaves
Ordo: Strigiformes

Familia: Strigidae
Subfamilia: Striginae
Genus: Megascops
Species: Megascops albogularis
Subspecies: M. a. aequatorialis – M. a. albogularis – M. a. macabrum – M. a. meridensis – M. a. obscurus – M. a. remotus
Name

Megascops albogularis (Cassin, 1849)
Synonymy

Macabra albogularis
Otus albogularis
Syrnium albo-gularis (protonym)

References

Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 4(1848) p.124
Phelps, William H. y Meyer de Schauensee, Rodolphe. 1978: Una guía de las Aves de Venezuela. Graficas Armitano C.A. Caracas. 484p.
La Marca, Enrique. 1997: Vertebrados de Venezuela Actuales y fósiles. Museo de Ciencia y Tecnologia, Mérida Venezuela 300p. ISBN 980-221-877-4

Vernacular names
català: Xot gorjablanc
Deutsch: Weißkehl-Kreischeule
English: White-throated Screech Owl
español: Autillo gorgiblanco
suomi: Valkokurkkupöllönen
français: Petit-duc à gorge blanche
Nederlands: Witkeelschreeuwuil
norsk: Andesugle
русский: Белогорлая совка
svenska: Vitstrupig skrikuv

The white-throated screech owl (Megascops albogularis) is a small owl found in the Andes of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela.[3]
Taxonomy and systematics

The white-throated screech owl was described by the American ornithologist John Cassin in 1849 and given the binomial name Syrnium albo-gularis.[4] Five subspecies are currently recognized:[3]

M. a. obscurus Phelps & Phelps Jr. (1953)
M. a. meridensis Chapman (1923)
M. a. macabrus Bonaparte (1850)
M. a. albogularis Cassin (1849)
M. a. remotus Bond & Meyer de Schauensee (1941)

However, its taxonomy is not certain. The species has sometimes been placed in the monotypic genus Macabra, but DNA studies show it is closely related to several other Megascops owls. At the subspecies level, M. a. obscurus is sometimes considered a color morph of M. a. meridensis or M. a. remotus. The population of rufescent screech owl (Megascops ingens) in eastern Ecuador has sometimes been considered to be another subspecies of white-throated screech owl (M. a. aequatorialis) or be part of the nominate M. a. albogularis.[5]
Description
White-throated screech owl

The white-throated screech owl is a large member of its genus. It is 20 to 26 cm (7.9 to 10.2 in) long and weighs 130 to 185 g (4.6 to 6.5 oz). It is overall dark plumaged, has a round head with very small ear tufts, and a longish tail. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a dark brown head and upperparts with small blackish, reddish, and white marks. Their flight feathers and tail have narrow darker bars. They have a dark facial disc with whitish marks above and below the orange eyes and a large white area below the bill that in some postures looks like large moustaches. Their chest is dark brown with tawny spots and their belly is tawny with dusky bars and streaks. The juvenile is pale buffy gray and has a black "mask" and barring on its crown, mantle, and underparts.[5]

M. a. meridensis has a whitish forehead and eyebrows, a suggestion of a nuchal collar, and a paler belly than the nominate. M. a. macabrus is similar to the nominate but with finer markings on the underparts. M. a. obscurus and M. a. remotus are darker than the nominate, blackish above with few lighter spots, a dark breast, and only faint bars and streaks on the belly.[5]
Distribution and habitat

The subspecies of the white-throated screech owl are found thus:[3][5]

M. a. obscurus, Serranía del Perijá on the northern Colombia/northwestern Venezuela border
M. a. meridensis, Andes of western Venezuela
M. a. macabrus, Colombia's Central and Western Andes south through Ecuador into Peru's Department of Cajamarca
M. a. albogularis, eastern Andes of Colombia and Ecuador
M. a. remotus, eastern Andes of Peru south to central Bolivia's Cochabamba Department

The white-throated screech owl inhabits the interior and edges of open humid evergreen montane forest and cloud forest and semi-open areas of scattered trees. In elevation it usually ranges between 2,000 and 3,000 m (6,600 and 9,800 ft) but is found locally as low as 1,300 m (4,300 ft) and, on the east slope of the Peruvian Andes, as high as 3,700 m (12,100 ft).[5]
Behavior
Feeding

The white-throated screech owl is nocturnal. It forages in the forest canopy, mostly for insects and other arthropods and perhaps small vertebrates as well.[5]
Breeding

Information about the white-throated screech owl's breeding phenology is scarce. Unlike most other members of genus Megascops, which nest in cavities, it has been reported to nest on the ground or in an old cup nest of another species.[5]
Vocalization

Dickcissel male perched on a metal pole singing, with neck stretched and beak open.

Songs and calls
Listen to white-throated screech owl on xeno-canto

The white-throated screech owl has several vocalizations. What is believed to be its primary male song is "gruff, barked notes, 'churrochurro-churro-chu chu chu chu'" given for up to a minute. A secondary song is "evenly spaced hoots, [about] 5 per second". Members of a pair sing in duet, with the female having a higher pitch. The female also has various agitation calls.[5]
Status

The IUCN has assessed the white-throated screech owl as being of Least Concern.[1] Its population number is not known but it is believed to be stable.[5]
References

BirdLife International (2016). "Megascops albogularis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22688903A93211055. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22688903A93211055.en. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
"Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
Gill, F.; Donsker, D.; Rasmussen, P. (July 2021). "IOC World Bird List (v 11.2)". Retrieved July 14, 2021.
Cassin, John (1849). "Species of owls, presumed to be undescribed, specimens of which are in the collection of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 4: 121–125 [124]. Retrieved August 3, 2021. The title page is dated 1848 but the volume was not published until the following year.
Holt, D. W., R. Berkley, C. Deppe, P. L. Enríquez, J. L. Petersen, J. L. Rangel Salazar, K. P. Segars, K. L. Wood, and J. S. Marks (2020). White-throated Screech-Owl (Megascops albogularis), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.whtsco1.01 retrieved August 3, 2021