PULSATRIX PERSPICILLATA, SPECTACLED OWL

The spectacled owl is a large tropical owl native to the Neotropics. It is a resident breeder in forests from southern Mexico and Trinidad, through Central America, to southern Brazil, Paraguay, and northwestern Argentina.

In Colombia, lives below 1000 m.a.s.l. Inhabits humid lowland jungles, dry forests, and gallery forests. It also uses open areas and coffee crops.

It feeds mainly on small vertebrates such as bats, frogs, lizards, birds, and mammals, and in smaller quantities, it also consumes small crabs and insects such as crickets, beetles, and caterpillars.

It nests in tree cavities where the female lays and incubates 2 or 3 eggs for approximately five weeks. The female feeds the young and leaves the nest 5 or 6 weeks later, but the chicks remain with their parents for another year.

It is a mainly nocturnal bird, although, on cloudy days, it can be active during the day, it lives alone or in pairs, and it rests in the vegetation along rivers or streams. It usually hunts its prey on the ground or foliage, making flights from its perch.

Spectacled Owl, pulsartrix perspicillata

Photographs by Victoria Restrepo ©