The Story
I made this photo of a Tropical Screech-Owl (Megascops choliba) at La Macarena, Meta, Colombia. It hunts by sallying from a low perch to catch prey on the ground, on branches or in the air. It eats large arthropods such as grasshoppers, katydids and moths, plus small vertebrates. It nests in holes, including natural cavities, old woodpecker holes and nest boxes. La Macarena is part of the Sierra de la Macarena and of the Macarena Special Management Area, which brings together several protected areas. The Sierra de la Macarena is home to about 420 bird species, along with eight species of primates.
I used a Pentax K-1 with the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 for this one, at 1/100 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200. IUCN lists the Tropical Screech-Owl as Least Concern, with a decreasing population.
©2020 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Tropical Screech-Owl (Megascops choliba) belongs to the family Strigidae (Owls) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2021), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List