Megascops clarkii
Silhouette: Jason Dilworth · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The bare-shanked screech owl (Megascops clarkii) is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is a large owl that feeds at night in forests and lives in a family size group, even during breeding season. The owl's range is only in Costa Rica, Panama, and far northwestern Colombia. The owl preys on large insects, shrews, and small rodents.
The owl is 23 cm (9 in) to 25 cm (10 in) long, 173-190 mm long, and weighs 123-190 g. Its upperbody is reddish-brown and is "spotted, mottled, and vermiculated with black". Its hindneck is yellowish and the feathers on its shoulder has a white band across them, edged with black. The flight feathers have cinnamon-colored bars, while the tail has light and dark bars. Underneath the owl, it is pale brown with a tan and yellowish tint. Its upper breast is partially white, while the lower breast and stomach have either dusky reddish-brown bars or markings with black streaks. The facial disc is yellowish-brown with a dark ruff and its eyes are yellow. Its bill is either greenish-grey or bluish-grey. The owl's thighs are mostly yellow. Its lower leg is bare as well as its yellowish-pink toes that have dark claws. Chicks are whitish... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Irazú Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Los Quetzales National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Darién National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 5 | Braulio Carrillo National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | Volcán Barú National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 7 | Poás Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 8 | Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 9 | Chirripó National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 10 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 11 | Arenal Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Bare-shanked Screech-Owl sighting in Los Quetzales National Park on a given day, based on 453 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 97th most-seen of the 252 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November to February
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Bare-shanked Screech-Owl in Los Quetzales National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March to October, the lowest months. Those are among Los Quetzales National Park's driest months, with about 200 mm of rain a month against 730 mm in October.
Between 7 and 10 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Bare-shanked Screech-Owl sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is mostly seen at night.
Among the best
Of the 11 parks where we can rate Bare-shanked Screech-Owl sightings, Los Quetzales National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Irazú Volcano National Park (Costa Rica, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Bare-shanked Screech-Owl is recorded against all the birds logged in Los Quetzales National Park (453 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.
