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Material on this page was provided by Paul Smith and Clyde Morris and is used with permission.
TROPICAL SCREECH-OWL Megascops choliba
The Tropical Screech-Owl is small, but don´t be fooled by his miniature stature, he is a voracious insect predator. Like all owls he is perfectly adapted for the nocturnal lifestyle, with large, forward facing eyes, and short, rounded wings helping him to fly silently through the night sky. The first indication that a large insect has that a Tropical Screech-Owl is in the neighbourhood is when it feels the owls talons stabbing into its bloated thorax. Screech-Owls come in two colour phases, rufous and grey, which occur in approximately equal proportions.
Click on the images to enlarge them.
FIGURE 1 - Adult rufous phase in relaxed posture, PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Paul Smith April 2010).
FIGURE 2 - Adult rufous phase in alert posture, Itabó Itaipú Reserve, Departamento Alto Paraná (Paul Smith September 2006).
FIGURE 3 - Adult grey phase, Mbaracayú Forest Reserve, Departamento Canindeyú (Paul Smith September 2006).
FIGURE 4 - Adult grey phase, Itabó Itaipú Reserve, Departamento Alto Paraná (Clyde Morris November 2008).
VIDEO A - Two colour phases sat side by side highlighting the differences, PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Paul Smith September 2006).
VIDEO B - Adult rufous phase by day, PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Paul Smith March 2007).
VIDEO C - Adult rufous phase, PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Paul Smith April 2010).
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Megascops choliba
1 Song  recorded Estancia Laguna Blanca, Departamento San Pedro (Paul Smith October 2008).
Click the links to hear the calls. Longer versions of this call can be downloaded from the Paraguay page of our partner website Xeno-Canto - the largest collection of freely downloadable Neotropical bird calls available online.