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Stygian Owl

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Conservation
Scientific name: Asio stygius
Family name: Strigidae

Are they endangered? No, they are not endangered worldwide. [IUCN Red list:  Least concern]  Even though they aren’t on the world level, there are different places in the world where they are threatened.  An example would be Cuba.

What are their past/present problems? Humans are cutting down or building on forest lands that the Stygian owl needs. 

What do they look like?  Stygian owls have long ear tufts that are close together in the center of their heads.  Their eyes are yellow and their backs are black with white spots.  Their bellies are light tan with dark brown streaks.  Light reflection on their eyes make their yellow look like scary red.

Stygian Owl
How big are they?  These birds are about 16” long.  If their wings were spread out, they would be about 3 ˝ feet wide.
How many eggs do they lay?  The female lays 2 white eggs once a year.  The eggs hatch in about a month.
How long do the fledglings stay in the nest? They like to use nests that were made and left by other birds.  The babies [owlets] leave the nest in about a month.
When do they hunt?   They hunt at night.
What do they eat?  They like to eat MICE, birds, bats, and snakes.
Where do they live? Stygian owls live in the Caribbean Islands, Mexico, and parts of South America.
What kind of place do they like to live in? They like to live in pine and oak forests.  They like mountain areas. 
Interesting facts:
When they perch, their coloring camouflages them in the trees.

They sit on a perch and fly down to get prey on the ground.  They will capture bats while they are flying.
When they are scared, their ear tufts go up.

Works Cited:

Alsop, Fred.  Birds of North America.  New York:  DK Publishing, 2001.

“Asio stygius.”  14 Jan. 2008.  <http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/48604/all>.

“Stygian owls.”  14 Jan. 2008.  <http://www.owlpages.com/owls.php?genus=Asio&species=stygius>.

 

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