Choco Screech Owl vs Cinnamon Screech-Owl

Megascops centralis compared with Megascops petersoni

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Choco Screech Owl	Cinnamon Screech-Owl
Kingdom same	Animalia (สัตว์)	Animalia (สัตว์)
Phylum same	Chordata (สัตว์มีแกนสันหลัง)	Chordata (สัตว์มีแกนสันหลัง)
Class same	Aves (นก)	Aves (นก)
Order same	Strigiformes (นกเค้าแมว)	Strigiformes (นกเค้าแมว)
Family same	Strigidae (True Owls)	Strigidae (True Owls)
Genus same	Megascops	Megascops
Species	Megascops centralis	Megascops petersoni

Evolutionary Relationship

Choco Screech Owl and Cinnamon Screech-Owl share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Megascops.

Conservation Status

Choco Screech Owl

LC — Least Concern

Cinnamon Screech-Owl

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Choco Screech Owl	Cinnamon Screech-Owl
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.

Cinnamon Screech-Owl

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, Norway, and Venezuela.

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.

Cinnamon Screech-Owl

The Cinnamon Screech-Owl (Megascops petersoni) is a species in the genus Megascops. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 2 countries:

🇨🇴 Colombia 🇳🇴 Norway