Screech owl

The screech owl is about 8 to 9 ¾ inches long and weighs about 5 ounces. It is known for its prominent tufted feathers, which give off the appearance of ears. It has tufts, yellow eyes, and a bill that combines the colors of black, gray, and green and is known for its unique feather coloring, as well, having distinct horizontal barring and vertical streaking, which contributes to its uniform dark coloration. However, it noticeably has white spotting on its shoulders. ==Ecology and behavior==

Screech owls hunt from perches in semiopen landscapes. They prefer areas that contain old trees with hollows; these are home to their prey, which includes insects, reptiles, small mammals such as bats and mice, and small birds. Screech owls have a good sense of hearing, which helps them locate their prey in any habitat. They also possess well-developed raptorial claws and a curved bill, both of which are used for tearing their prey into pieces small enough to swallow easily. They usually carry their prey back to their nests, presumably to guard against the chance of losing their meal to a larger raptor. Screech owls are primarily solitary. During the late winter breeding season, however, males make nests in cavities, sometimes reusing abandoned nests of other animals, to try to attract females. The females select their mate based on the quality of the cavity and the food located inside. During the incubation period, the male feeds the female. These birds are monogamous, with biparental care. The young of most screech owls are altricial to semialtricial. ==Evolution==

The genus Megascops was introduced by German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup in 1848. The type species is the eastern screech owl (Megascops asio). The evolutionary relationships of the scops and screech owls are not entirely clear. What is certain is that they are very closely related; they may be considered sister lineages, which fill essentially the same ecological niche in their allopatric ranges. A screech owl fossil from the Late Pliocene of Kansas (which is almost identical to eastern and western screech owls) indicates a longstanding presence of these birds in the Americas, while coeval scops owl fossils very similar to the Eurasian scops owl have been found at S'Onix on Majorca. == Systematics ==

(Megascops kennicottii) individuals of the tropical screech owl (Megascops choliba) The genus contains 22 species: • Whiskered screech owl, Megascops trichopsis • Bare-shanked screech owl, Megascops clarkii • White-throated screech owl, Megascops albogularis • Tropical screech owl, Megascops choliba • Bearded screech owl, Megascops barbarus • Pacific screech owl, Megascops cooperi • Western screech owl, Megascops kennicottii • Eastern screech owl, Megascops asio • Balsas screech owl, Megascops seductus • Alagoas screech owl, Megascops alagoensis – first described in 2021 • Middle American screech owl, Megascops guatemalae • Vermiculated screech owl, Megascops guatemalae vermiculatus • Koepcke's screech owl, Megascops koepckeae • Rufescent screech owl, Megascops ingens • Cinnamon screech owl, Megascops petersoni • Cloud-forest screech owl, Megascops marshalli • Yungas screech owl, Megascops hoyi • Xingu screech owl, Megascops stangiae – first described in 2021 • Chocó screech owl, Megascops centralis – split from M. guatemalae • Foothill screech owl, Megascops roraimae – split from M. guatemalae • Long-tufted screech owl, Megascops sanctaecatarinae • Santa Marta screech owl, Megascops gilesi – first described in 2017 • West Peruvian screech owl, Megascops roboratus • Tawny-bellied screech owl, Megascops watsonii • Black-capped screech owl, Megascops atricapilla ==References==