Megascops watsonii
Silhouette: Jason Dilworth · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The tawny-bellied screech owl (Megascops watsonii) is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. The tawny-bellied screech owl was described by the American ornithologist John Cassin in 1849 and given the binomial name Ephialtes watsonii. It was later placed in genus Otus and later still the New World members of that genus were transferred to Megascops.
The tawny-bellied screech owl is part of a complex of species that includes the Santa Marta screech owl (M. gilesi), West Peruvian screech owl (M. roboratus), black-capped screech owl (M. atricapilla), and perhaps other undescribed species. The latter has been suggested as a species in its own right.
The tawny-bellied screech owl is 19 to 24 cm (7.5 to 9.4 in) long. The nominate subspecies weighs 114 to 155 g (4.0 to 5.5 oz) and M. w. usta 115 to 141 g (4.1 to 5.0 oz). The nominate has a dark buff facial disc with a thin darker border, dark buff brows over dark yellow eyes, and longish broad "ear" tufts. The crown... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manu National Park | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 2 | Tambopata National Reserve | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 3 | Amacayacu National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 4 | Yasuní National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 5 | Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 6 | Amboró National Park | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 7 | Anavilhanas National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 8 | Brownsberg Nature Park | 🇸🇷 Suriname |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mangal das Garças | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Tawny-bellied Screech-Owl sighting in Amboró National Park on a given day, based on 26 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 120th most-seen of the 273 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Tawny-bellied Screech-Owl in Amboró National Park on a given day, against under 5% in July–August, October and December–May, the lowest months. June has too few records to rate.
Between 10 pm and 1 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Tawny-bellied Screech-Owl sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is mostly seen at night.
6th of 8
Of the 8 parks where we can rate Tawny-bellied Screech-Owl sightings, Amboró National Park ranks 6th at about 10%. The best odds are in Manu National Park (Peru, about 20%), Tambopata National Reserve (Peru, about 10%) and Amacayacu National Natural Park (Colombia, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Tawny-bellied Screech-Owl is recorded against all the birds logged in Amboró National Park (26 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
