Birdfinding.info ⇒ Fairly common and widespread, Puerto Rico’s endemic owl could be found in any wooded area on the island, including Julio Enrique Monagas National Park in San Juan. Sites that have been consistently reliable over the years include El Yunque National Forest (e.g., the parking lot at La Coca Falls), Río Abajo and Guánica State Forests, and the Arecibo Observatory parking lot. The Ceiba Country Inn, south of Fajardo, is known for having resident Puerto Rican Screech-Owls that can often be found on its grounds after dark. Evening or predawn visits to Guánica State Forest afford the opportunity to find this species and Puerto Rican Nightjar in the same outing. A predawn or late afternoon visit to Río Abajo State Forest to look for the Puerto Rican Parrot is another way to coordinate searches for two endemics.
Puerto Rican Owl
Gymnasio nudipes
Endemic to Puerto Rico, where it is a fairly common resident of wet and dry forests throughout the island. Sometimes occurs in lightly wooded areas, including towns, but prefers dense thickets or caves for roosting.
Formerly inhabited the Virgin Islands (with historical records from Culebra, Vieques, St. Thomas, St. John, St. Croix, Guana, Virgin Gorda, and Tortola), but there have been no documented records anywhere besides the Puerto Rican mainland since the mid-1900s.
Identification
Unique in its range; the only arboreal owl on Puerto Rico.
A plump, tuftless screech-owl with dark upperparts, mostly whitish underparts, and a strong facial pattern of pale crescents that form an “X” over the bill.
Puerto Rican Screech-Owl. (El Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico; April 2012.) © Alan Van Norman
The facial disks have bold, pale lower rims that are striking when illuminated but are often concealed.
Puerto Rican Screech-Owl—note whitish “X” on the face. (El Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico; February 18, 2015.) © Dubi Shapiro
The tones of its plumage range from grayish-brown to rufous. Most individuals fall somewhere in between, but closer to the rufous end of the spectrum.
Puerto Rican Screech-Owl, showing bold white lower rims on facial disks. (San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico.) © Alberto López
Puerto Rican Screech-Owl, showing strong white lower rims on facial disks and rusty coloration. (Puerto Rico; April 14, 2015.) © Ernesto Burgos
Voice. Most typical call is a hollow, quavering, even-toned trill that often escalates to louder, more excited trills that rise to crescendos resembling maniacal laughter:
Notes
Polytypic species consisting of two recognized subspecies: nudipes and newtoni—although the latter is believed extinct and its validity as a subspecies is questionable.
More Images of the Puerto Rican Owl
Puerto Rican Screech-Owl—note whitish “X” on the face. (Ceiba, Puerto Rico; January 31, 2010.) © Steve Metz
Puerto Rican Screech-Owl—note bold whitish “X” on the face. (El Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico; March 24, 2014.) © Dr. Luis O. Nieves
Puerto Rican Screech-Owl, showing strong facial pattern and rusty coloration. (Ceiba, Puerto Rico; January 31, 2010.) © Steve Metz
Puerto Rican Screech-Owl, on a day roost in a bamboo thicket. (Río Abajo State Forest, Puerto Rico; March 24, 2014.) © Eric Hynes
References
BirdLife International. 2016. Megascops nudipes. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T22688891A93210689. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22688891A93210689.en. (Accessed December 8, 2023.)
eBird. 2023. eBird: An online database of bird distribution and abundance. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, N.Y. http://www.ebird.org. (Accessed December 8, 2023.)
iNaturalist. 2023. https://www.inaturalist.org/. (Accessed December 8, 2023.)
Kirwan, G.M., A. Levesque, M. Oberle, and C.J. Sharpe. 2019. Birds of the West Indies. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
König, C., and F. Weick. 2008. Owls of the World (Second Edition). Yale University Press.
Mikkola, H. 2013. Owls of the World: A Photographic Guide (Second Edition). Firefly Books, London.
Moreno, J. 1998. Status of the Virgin Islands Screech-Owl. Journal of Field Ornithology 69:557-562.
Raffaele, H., J. Wiley, O. Garrido, A. Keith, and J. Raffaele. 1998. A Guide to the Birds of the West Indies. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J.
Xeno-Canto. 2023. Puerto Rican Owl – Gymnasio nudipes. https://xeno-canto.org/species/Gymnasio-nudipes. (Accessed December 8, 2023.)