The tawny-bellied screech owl is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
Region
Amazon Basin and the Guianas
Typical Environment
Occupies humid lowland evergreen forest throughout much of the Amazon and Guianas, including terra firme and seasonally flooded várzea. It favors interior forest but also uses edges, tree-fall gaps, and riparian corridors. By day it hides in dense cover or cavities; at night it hunts from low to mid-level perches within the understory and midstory. It is widespread in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1200 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
A nocturnal hunter of Amazonian forests, the tawny-bellied screech owl is far more often heard than seen, responding readily to imitated calls. It roosts in dense foliage or tree cavities by day and relies on superb camouflage. The species includes multiple subspecies that vary subtly in tone and pattern across its wide range. It is sensitive to extensive forest loss but persists in large tracts of intact lowland rainforest.
Temperament
solitary and territorial
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with silent glides through forest understory
Social Behavior
Typically seen singly or in pairs, maintaining territories within mature forest. Nests in natural tree cavities or old woodpecker holes, where the female incubates while the male provides food. Pairs are likely monogamous at least within a breeding season, and young remain near the nest area for a time after fledging.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
The song is a soft, resonant series of hoots or quavering notes delivered at measured intervals, often accelerating slightly. Pairs may duet, with the female giving higher-pitched notes. Calls include trills and short barks used in territorial exchanges.
Plumage
Compact screech-owl with small ear tufts; upperparts mottled brown to gray-brown with fine vermiculations, underparts tawny to buff with dark barring and streaking. Facial disk is well defined with a darker rim; throat often paler with a small whitish patch. Plumage shows typical cryptic patterning aiding camouflage against bark.
Diet
Feeds primarily on large insects such as moths, beetles, katydids, and orthopterans, taken by sallying from low to mid-level perches. Also captures spiders and other arthropods. Will occasionally take small vertebrates including frogs, lizards, small birds, and mice when available.
Preferred Environment
Hunts within the forest understory and midstory, along edges, trails, and stream margins where prey is more detectable. Often forages from a concealed perch, making short, silent sorties to seize prey on foliage or the ground.
