Strix virgata
Silhouette: Sharon Wegner-Larsen · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The mottled owl (Strix virgata) is a medium-sized owl found in Central and South America from Mexico to Brazil and Argentina. The head and back are mottled brown and the underparts whitish, with vertical bars on the chest and throat. The eyes are dark and the head is round and they do not have ear tufts. They are territorial and found in dry forests and jungles at altitudes of up to 2,500 m (8,200 ft) above sea level.
The mottled owl was described by the American ornithologist John Cassin in 1849 and given the binomial name Syrnium virgatum. In 1999, Wink and Heidrich transferred it to the genus Strix, but this is still contested by some authorities.
The mottled owl is a medium-sized owl with adults reaching 280 to 355 mm (11 to 14 in) in length. Females are considerably larger than males; the mottled owl shows the greatest degree of sexual dimorphism of any species of owl. The crown, nape and back are mottled in several shades of darkish brown, the facial disc is pale brown and the throat, breast and belly are off-white with distinctive vertical brown streaks. The large eyes are brown, the beak is greyish-yellow or greyish-blue, and the legs and feet... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Guatemala City | 🇬🇹 Guatemala | |
| 3 | San Salvador | 🇸🇻 El Salvador | |
| 4 | Panama City | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 5 | São Paulo | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parque Zoológico de León - Zooleón | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 2 | Zoológico de San Juan de Aragón | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 3 | UMA "El Palapo" | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 4 | Small Breeds Farm Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 5 | El Nispero Zoo | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 6 | ARCAS Petén Education Centre | 🇬🇹 Guatemala | |
| 7 | Gran Acuario de Mazatlán "Mar de Cortés" | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 8 | Zoológico de Mexquitic | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 9 | Parque Cóndor | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 10 | Zoo León | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Mottled Owl sighting in Pico Bonito National Park on a given day, based on 68 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 132nd most-seen of the 271 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.
August
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Mottled Owl in Pico Bonito National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January, April–July and September, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Mottled Owl sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is seen both by day and at night.
Among the best
Of the 44 parks where we can rate Mottled Owl sightings, Pico Bonito National Park ranks 6th at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve (Mexico, about 10%), El Triunfo (Mexico, about 10%) and Tikal National Park (Guatemala, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Mottled Owl is recorded against all the birds logged in Pico Bonito National Park (68 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.
