Autillo Grande/Rufescent Screech-Owl/Megascops ingens

Nombre en español: Autillo Grande

Nombre en ingles: Rufescent Screech-Owl

Nombre científico: Megascops ingens

Familia: Strigidae

Foto: Jeison MacGregor

Canto: David Geale

El autillo pálido o curucucú pálido (Megascops ingens) es una especie de ave estrigiforme de la familia Strigidae nativa de Sudamérica.

Distribución y hábitat

Se distribuye a través de Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Perú y Venezuela. Habita en bosques húmedos montanos, en elevaciones desde 1200 a 2500 metros. Es un pájaro estrictamente nocturno que se vuelve activo al atardecer. Durante el día se refugia en su mayoría entre las epífitas en las ramas gruesas. Se alimenta de insectos así como de pequeños vertebrados.

Subespecies

Se reconocen dos subespecies:

Megascops ingens ingens (Salvin, 1897)– el norte de Ecuador a Perú y Bolivia.
Megascops ingens venezuelanus (Phelps & Phelps, 1954)– desde el norte de Colombia hasta el noroeste de Venezuela.

Rufescent screech owl

The rufescent screech owl (Megascops ingens) is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. This is one of the larger species of screech owls, similar in size to the white-throated screech owl. The overall length is 25 to 29 centimetres (9.8 to 11.4 in) and weight in males is 134–190 grams (4.7–6.7 oz) and 140–273 grams (4.9–9.6 oz) in females. It is sandy-brown above, vermiculated darker, the facial disc is sandy-brown, without a distinct rim. The flight feathers are barred cinnamon and dusky and the tail is cinnamon with darker brown bars. The hindcrown has buffy-whitish border. It has honey-brown eyes and small ear-tufts. The tarsi are feathered to the base of the toes. The Colombian screech owl was formerly considered a distinct species, but is now considered conspecific.

Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, from elevations of 1,200 to 2,500 metres (3,900 to 8,200 ft).This relatively powerful bird is a strictly nocturnal bird that becomes active at dusk. During the daytime it mostly roosts among epiphytes on thick branches. Little is known about the life history of this bird. Larger insects and spiders are taken, as well as small vertebrates. The reproductive biology of this owl merits further study, but it will typically nest in a natural hole in a tree where it lays pure white eggs directly on the bottom of the cavity.

The rufescent screech owl is not considered a threatened species by the IUCN.