Choco Screech Owl vs Etruscan Shrew

Megascops centralis compared with Suncus etruscus

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Choco Screech Owl	Etruscan Shrew
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Strigiformes (Owls)	Soricomorpha (Soricomorpha)
Family	Strigidae (True Owls)	Soricidae
Genus	Megascops	Suncus
Species	Megascops centralis	Suncus etruscus

Evolutionary Relationship

Choco Screech Owl and Etruscan Shrew share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (Chordates)

Conservation Status

Choco Screech Owl

LC — Least Concern

Etruscan Shrew

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Choco Screech Owl	Etruscan Shrew
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Choco Screech Owl

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Colombia and Norway.

Etruscan Shrew

Habitat

Inhabits deserts and xeric shrublands within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm.

Range

Found across Asia (Cyprus, Yemen) and Europe (6 countries).

Choco Screech Owl

The Choco Screech-Owl (Megascops centralis) is a small, cryptically patterned owl in the family Strigidae, found in the humid lowland and foothill forests of the Chocó region of northwestern Colombia and extending into adjacent areas of Central America. Screech-owls of the genus Megascops are characterised by their small to medium size, prominent ear tufts, complex camouflage plumage imitating tree bark, and vocalisations consisting of mellow trilling or whinnying calls quite different from the piercing screech suggested by their common name. The Choco Screech-Owl inhabits the forest interior and edge from sea level to around 1,500 metres elevation, where it hunts nocturnally for large insects, small lizards, frogs, and occasionally small birds. During the day it roosts upright against a tree trunk or in dense foliage, where its mottled grey, brown, and black plumage renders it nearly invisible. Nesting occurs in natural tree cavities. The IUCN classifies this species as Least Concern, with a sufficient range across the Colombian Chocó and Central America. However, the ongoing loss of lowland tropical forest in this region — one of the wettest on Earth — remains a background threat to this and the many other Chocó endemics that depend on intact forest.

Etruscan Shrew

Etruscan Shrew (Suncus etruscus) is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List. Widespread and abundant across its range, with stable populations and no immediate conservation concerns.