Pacific screech owl | |
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Pacific Screech Owl, Costa Rica, January 2018 | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Strigiformes |
Family: | Strigidae |
Genus: | Megascops |
Species: | M. cooperi
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Binomial name | |
Megascops cooperi (Ridgway, 1878)
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Synonyms | |
Otus cooperi (Ridgway, 1878) |
The Pacific screech owl (Megascops cooperi) is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua.[3] The Pacific screech owl has sometimes been treated as a race of western screech owl (Megascops kennicottii) or eastern screech owl (M. asio) but its vocalizations are distinct from theirs. Two subspecies are recognized, the nominate M. c. cooperi and M. c. lambi. The latter has also sometimes been treated as a separate species.[3][4] The IUCN has assessed the Pacific screech owl as being of Least Concern. Its population is estimated to exceed 50,000 mature individuals but is believed to be decreasing.[1]