The Middle American Screech Owl (Megascops guatemalae), also known as the Guatemalan Screech Owl, is a species of owl

Owl

Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish...

 in the Strigidae family. It is found in forests and dense second growth from Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 to Costa Rica

Costa Rica

Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....

. Some authorities include Chocó Screech Owl and Roraiman Screech Owl in M. guatemalae, but under the English name Vermiculated Screech Owl. When split, the name Vermiculated Screech Owl (M. vermiculatus) is sometimes used for the population in Costa Rica and Panama, but based on voices all in Panama appear to be M. centralis (with its short-trilled song), while populations in Costa Rica appear to be divided between M. centralis and M. guatemalae (with its long-trilled song).

With a length of 20 to 23 cm (7.9 to 9.1 ), it is a smaller than most other screech-owl

Screech-owl

Screech owls or Screech-owls are typical owls belonging to the genus Megascops. Twenty-one living species are known at present, but new ones are frequently recognized and unknown ones are still being discovered on a regular basis, especially in the Andes...

s. Unlike other owls of the same genus, it has feathered feet. It is dimorphic

Polymorphism (biology)

Polymorphism in biology occurs when two or more clearly different phenotypes exist in the same population of a species — in other words, the occurrence of more than one form or morph...

, with one morph overall grayish-brown and the other overall rufous

Rufous

Rufous is a colour that may be described as reddish-brown or brownish-red, as of rust or oxidised iron.The first recorded use of rufous as a colour name in English was in the year 1782....

. The tail is relatively long for an owl, the underside has conspicuous longitudinal stripes and some horizontal stripes. Its face is surrounded by a dark feather edge and it has relatively short ear tufts. The eyes are yellow. The beak is pale olive-greenish in color.

Subspecies

Currently, the Middle American Screech Owl has seven recognized subspecies:

• M. g. cassini (Ridgway, 1878)
• M. g. dacrysistactus (R. T. Moore & J. L. Peters, 1939)
• M. g. fuscus (R. T. Moore & J. L. Peters, 1939)
• M. g. guatemalae (Sharpe, 1875)
• M. g. hastatus Ridgway, 1887
• M. g. thompsoni (Cole, 1906)
• M. g. tomlini (R. T. Moore, 1937)