Asio stygius
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The Stygian owl (Asio stygius) is a medium-sized "typical owl" in subfamily Striginae. It is found in Mexico, parts of Central America, Cuba, Hispaniola, and 10 countries in South America. The Stygian owl has these six recognized subspecies:
The sexes have similar very dark plumage. (The adjective "Stygian" means "of, or relating to, the River Styx", but is more widely applied to anything that is dark or dismal.) The face is blackish with a pale border and a whitish forehead, and the head has long dark feathers that project upward as "ears". The dark upperparts have buff streaks and bars; the underparts are a dingy buff with dark brown or blackish barring and streaks. The eye is shades of yellow, the bill blue-black to blackish, and the feet dark grayish or brownish pink. Its eyes may appear to be a shade of crimson under certain lighting... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ciénaga de Zapata | 🇨🇺 Cuba | |
| 2 | Cusuco National Park | 🇭🇳 Honduras |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guatemala City | 🇬🇹 Guatemala | |
| 2 | Bogota | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 3 | Curitiba | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Porto Alegre | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | Brasilia | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 6 | São Paulo | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 7 | Medellín | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parque Zoologico Guátika | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 2 | Amaru | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 3 | Bioparque Wakatá | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 4 | Dantas | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 5 | Parque Cóndor | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 6 | Wiwa Quito | 🇪🇨 Ecuador |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Stygian Owl sighting in Guatemala City on a given day, based on 533 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 57th most-seen of the 220 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Stygian Owl in Guatemala City on a given day, against under 5% in November and December, the lowest months. That is one of Guatemala City's wettest months, with about 170 mm of rain against 5 mm in January.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Stygian Owl sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
Yes
Of the 7 cities where we can rate Stygian Owl sightings, Guatemala City has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Bogota (Colombia, under 5%) and Curitiba (Brazil, under 5%).
Same family: Strigidae
The closest relatives of the Stygian Owl that you can see in Guatemala City (family Strigidae, Typical Owls) are Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl (about 10%) and Mottled Owl (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Stygian Owl is recorded against all the birds logged in Guatemala City (533 verified sightings), 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.
