Boreal Owl vs Cloud-forest Screech-Owl

Aegolius funereus compared with Megascops marshalli

Key Differences

• Boreal Owl is Least Concern while Cloud-forest Screech-Owl is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Boreal Owl	Cloud-forest Screech-Owl
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Aves (Birds)	Aves (Birds)
Order same	Strigiformes (Owls)	Strigiformes (Owls)
Family same	Strigidae (True Owls)	Strigidae (True Owls)
Genus	Aegolius	Megascops
Species	Aegolius funereus	Megascops marshalli

Evolutionary Relationship

Boreal Owl and Cloud-forest Screech-Owl share a common ancestor at the Family level: Strigidae. (True Owls)

Conservation Status

Boreal Owl

LC — Least Concern

Cloud-forest Screech-Owl

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Boreal Owl	Cloud-forest Screech-Owl
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Boreal Owl

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Found across Europe (6 countries) and North America (United States).

Cloud-forest Screech-Owl

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Found in Norway. Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Boreal Owl

The Boreal Owl (Aegolius funereus) is a species in the genus Aegolius. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Cloud-forest Screech-Owl

The cloud forest screech-owl (Megascops marshalli) is a small owl in the family Strigidae endemic to the eastern slopes of the Andes in Peru and Bolivia, inhabiting cloud forest and humid montane woodland between approximately 900 and 2,200 meters elevation. Described scientifically in 1981, it belongs to the diverse Megascops screech-owl assemblage of the Americas. The species has brown, streaked cryptic plumage and small ear tufts typical of screech-owls, with a characteristic song used for territory advertisement in cloud forest habitats. It is nocturnal and insectivorous, feeding on large insects, small lizards, and other invertebrates caught in the forest understory. The cloud forest screech-owl has a restricted range on the humid eastern Andean slopes, where increasing deforestation for agriculture and coca cultivation reduces suitable habitat. Its population status is considered Least Concern given the continuing extent of Andean cloud forest in its range, though forest clearance on the eastern Andean slopes remains a long-term threat to this and many other narrowly endemic cloud forest bird species.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 1 countries:

🇳🇴 Norway