Stygian Owl

Stygian Owl

Asio stygius

Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at São Paulo

In 3 days <5%

44 Verified sightings at São Paulo
89 In all 2 parks From 2019 to 2026
May Best month
☀️🌙 Day & Night When it's spotted

About the Stygian Owl

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 →

Sounds

Call1:21

Brazil · 2025

© Marcelo J Feliti · XC1119996 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:46

Colombia · 2021

© Iván Lau · XC667604 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:10

Brazil · 2020

© JAYRSON ARAUJO DE OLIVEIRA · XC577102 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Ciénaga de Zapata 🇨🇺 Cuba
<5%
2 Cusuco National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Guatemala City 🇬🇹 Guatemala
~10%
2 Bogota 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%
3 Curitiba 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
4 Porto Alegre 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
5 Brasilia 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
6 São Paulo 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
7 Medellín 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Parque Zoologico Guátika 🇨🇴 Colombia In captivity
2 Amaru 🇪🇨 Ecuador In captivity
3 Bioparque Wakatá 🇨🇴 Colombia In captivity
4 Dantas 🇨🇴 Colombia In captivity
5 Parque Cóndor 🇪🇨 Ecuador In captivity
6 Wiwa Quito 🇪🇨 Ecuador In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Stygian Owl in São Paulo?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Stygian Owl sighting in São Paulo on a given day, based on 44 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 248th most-seen of the 353 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Stygian Owl in São Paulo?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Stygian Owl in São Paulo on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see a Stygian Owl?

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.

Is São Paulo the best place to see a Stygian Owl?

6th of 7

Of the 7 cities where we can rate Stygian Owl sightings, São Paulo ranks 6th at under 5%. The best odds are in Guatemala City (Guatemala, about 10%), Bogota (Colombia, under 5%) and Curitiba (Brazil, under 5%).

Where does the Stygian Owl sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Stygian Owl is recorded against all the birds logged in São Paulo (44 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.

← Back to São Paulo