Stats

Lifespan: Up to 35 yrs
Size: Large
Diet: Carnivore
Activity: Nocturnal
Social: Solitary
Biome: Tropical rainforest
Range: Central and South America
Movement: Flight
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Camouflage
Status: Uncommon

About

The Spectacled Owl is a large tropical owl of Central and South American rainforests, named for the striking white "spectacle" markings that ring its dark eyes. It is a powerful nocturnal predator capable of taking prey as large as opossums and skunks.

Life cycle

1.
egg
One or two eggs are incubated on a high stick nest or cliff ledge, guarded closely by the pair.
2.
hatchling
A downy hatchling is fed torn meat by its parents and grows quickly in a high nest.
3.
juvenile
A feathered juvenile fledges from the nest, learning to soar and to make its first kills.
4.
adult
Fully grown, hunting on its own with adult plumage.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Strigiformes
Family: Strigidae
Genus: Pulsatrix
Species: Pulsatrix perspicillata