The Chocó screech owl is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found from central Panama to western Ecuador.
Region
Chocó bioregion (central Panama to western Ecuador)
Typical Environment
Inhabits humid lowland and foothill evergreen forests, including primary forest and well-vegetated secondary growth. Prefers dense, wet forest on the Pacific slope and along river corridors. Frequently hunts along edges, clearings, and forest tracks but roosts in thick cover by day. It can occur near human settlements where forest persists.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1200 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Often treated as distinct following a split from the Vermiculated Screech-Owl complex, it is confined to the wet Chocó bioregion. It shows gray and rufous morphs with heavy vermiculation that provide superb camouflage on mossy trunks. Its accelerating trilled song is the best way to detect it at night. Ongoing deforestation in the Chocó lowlands is the main threat to this species.
Temperament
solitary and territorial
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with low, silent, direct flights through understory
Social Behavior
Typically roosts singly or in pairs in dense foliage or tree cavities. Pairs maintain territories and may duet at dusk. Nests in natural cavities or old woodpecker holes, laying a small clutch that both parents tend. Nocturnal activity centers around edge habitats where prey is abundant.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
An accelerating series of short notes that merges into a steady, stuttering trill, often delivered from a mid-level perch. Calls can be repeated for several minutes and are most frequent at dusk and before dawn.
Plumage
Compact screech-owl with bold vermiculated patterning and fine streaks; occurs in gray-brown and rufous morphs. Facial disk rounded with a darker rim; small but obvious ear tufts. Underparts barred and streaked; upperparts heavily mottled for bark-like camouflage.
Diet
Feeds primarily on large nocturnal insects such as moths, beetles, katydids, and orthopterans. Also takes spiders and other arthropods, and occasionally small vertebrates like frogs, lizards, or small rodents. Hunts from low to mid-level perches, sallying to snatch prey from foliage or the ground.
Preferred Environment
Forest edges, clearings, trails, and riparian corridors adjacent to dense humid forest. Will forage near lights at forest margins where insects concentrate, but requires nearby cover for roosting.
