White-throated Screech Owl

The white-throated screech owl (Megascops albogularis) is a small owl found in the Andes of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. == Taxonomy and systematics == The white-throated screech owl was described by the American ornithologist John Cassin in 1849 and given the binomial name Syrnium albo-gularis. Five subspecies are currently recognized: M. a. obscurus Phelps & Phelps Jr. (1953) M. a. meridensis Chapman (1923) M. a. macabrus Bonaparte (1850) M. a. albogularis Cassin (1849) M. a. remotus Bond & Meyer de Schauensee (1941) However, its taxonomy is not certain. The species has sometimes been placed in the monotypic genus Macabra, but DNA studies show it is closely related to several other Megascops owls. At the subspecies level, M. a. obscurus is sometimes considered a color morph of M. a. meridensis or M. a. remotus. The population of rufescent screech owl (Megascops ingens) in eastern Ecuador has sometimes been considered to be another subspecies of white-throated screech owl (M. a. aequatorialis) or be part of the nominate M. a. albogularis. == Description == The white-throated screech owl is a large member of its genus. It is 20 to 26 cm (7.9 to 10.2 in) long and weighs 130 to 185…