Spectacled Owl

The spectacled owl can range from 41 to 52.3 cm (16.1 to 20.6 in) in length. Mass in males can range from 453 to 1,075 g (1.00 to 2.37 lb), whereas females can weigh from 680 to 1,250 g (1.50 to 2.76 lb). 10 males from the nominate subspecies (P. p. perspicillata) were found to average 767 g (1.69 lb) while 8 females averaged 908 g (2.00 lb). It is unmistakable in most of its range (except with other Pulsatrix owls) with blackish brown upperparts, head and upper breast, white facial markings, and whitish to yellowish-ochre underparts. The eyes are yellow, the only Pulsatrix with this eye color, and the beak is pale. The juvenile is even more distinctive than the adult, being completely white apart from a chocolate brown facial disc. The head is typically darker than the back and mantle but the shade of this area besides the composition of the breast band is the main distinguishing external feature of the subspecies. Compared to the band-bellied owl (P. melanota), it is of similar or slightly larger size, but that species has dark eyes, white eyebrows, and a brown chest band broken by buffy-whitish barring the rest of broadly the underparts being whitish with reddish-brown barring. The spectacled owl is generally found at lower elevations than the band-bellied but their ranges overlap or abut from Colombia to northern Bolivia. The tawny-browed owl (P. …

The spectacled owl is found in Mexico, Central America (Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama), Trinidad and Tobago, and South America (Colombia, Venezuela, Suriname, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina). The spectacled owl is primarily a bird of tropical rainforests, being found mostly in areas where dense, old-growth forest is profuse. However, it may enter secondary habitats, such as forest edges, especially while hunting. On occasion, they have been found in dry forests, treed savanna plains, plantations, and semi-open areas with trees. In areas such as Costa Rica, they may inhabit subtropical montane cloud forests of up to 1,500 m (4,900 ft), although are generally associated with lowland forests.

This species is largely nocturnal, starting activity right around the time of the last light at dusk and usually being back on their roosts for the day around the first light. It is a solitary, unsocial bird, usually roosting singly each day and only peaceable associating with others of their own species for reproductive purposes. The spectacled owl is typically the largest and most dominant owl in its range, with the larger great horned owl (Bubo virginianus) rarely venturing into true rainforest habitats. Most hunting starts with the owl perched on a branch and scanning the area, then dropping with a quick pounce when prey is located. It preys principally on a wide array of mammals, eating almost anything that is nocturnally active. Various rodents may be primary but virtually any type of small mammal in its habitat is vulnerable. The primary food by far in Oaxaca, Mexico was the Peters's climbing rat (Tylomys nudicaudus) followed by mouse opossums (Marmosa ssp.) of unidentified species. Numerous bats, such as greater spear-nosed bats (Phyllostomus hastatus) and broad-eared bats (Nyctinomops laticaudatus), are also rather vulnerable apparently. Smaller monkeys such as tamarins (Saguinus ssp.) may be vulnerable to predation. …