Asio stygius
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10%
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 |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Stygian Owl sighting in Cusuco National Park on a given day, based on 17 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 201st most-seen of the 250 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February to April
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Stygian Owl in Cusuco National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May to January, the lowest months. Those are among Cusuco National Park's driest months, with about 100 mm of rain a month against 420 mm in November.
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.
Among the best
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Stygian Owl sightings, Cusuco National Park ranks 2nd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Ciénaga de Zapata (Cuba, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Stygian Owl is recorded against all the birds logged in Cusuco National Park (17 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.
