Bare-shanked Screech-Owl
Megascops clarkii
Large for a screech-owl. Warm rufous-brown overall, brightest on face, which does not have a distinct black border like most other screech-owls. Coarsely marked on belly. Found in montane forests, where the best way to find it is by voice. Listen for the short series of hoots.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Megascops clarkii
- Authority
- (Kelso, L & Kelso, EH, 1935)
- Order
- Strigiformes
- Family
- Strigidae
- Genus
- Megascops
Range and habitat
Its habitat is in mountain forests that are dense and humid, along with the edges of forests and in cloud forests that have an elevation of 3,000 to 7,600 feet. Sometimes, the elevation is almost 11,000 feet high. Although the owl can sometimes be found in thinner upland forests, it still requires a patchy forest. The owl's range is only in Costa Rica, Panama, and far northwestern Colombia. It can also be located in the Monteverde Biological Reserve and Volcán Poás National Park within Costa Rica. The owl has been barely studied and its conservation status is unknown according to a 2017 book, but the IUCN Red List ranks it as least concern.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Yellow-crowned Canary
Serinus flavivertex
Colorful seedeater with an olive-green back, black wings with two yellow wingbars, and a mostly yellow head and underparts. Females and immatures are duller, with more brown tones and streaking. Found in open montane habitats including grassland, cultivation, forest edge, and heath. The song is a high-pitched, twittering jumble. Similar to White-bellied Canary, but found in different habitat, has bolder wingbars, and lacks a moustache facial mark.
Lemon-breasted Seedeater
Crithagra citrinipectus
A small gray-brown seedeater with a lemon-yellow rump, white tail tips, and a boldly marked face with pale patches (white to lemon-yellow) above and below the eye. The throat and upper breast are lemon-yellow in the male and buff in the female. Pairs and small flocks occupy savanna, grassland, and palm savanna, where the species is partial to Ilala Palm. It forages on the ground and in small shrubs and grass. The similar Yellow-fronted Canary is yellower, has a broader eyebrow, and lacks wingbars and the vertical dark stripe below the eye.
Mountain Barbet
Psilopogon monticola
Faded-looking barbet of Borneo’s north-central mountain ranges. Grass-green above and pale green below, with a pale blue head, an off-white throat, and a bright red streak on the back of the head. Relatively common in montane and submontane forest and edge (most common 600–1200) but can be difficult to see. Listen for its song, a series of hollow, echoing notes comparable to a water bottle being emptied. Can be found in and around fruiting trees, sometimes in mixed flocks.
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