Bird
Bird
Mottled Owl
Ciccaba virgata
The Mottled Owl is a medium-sized, forest-dwelling owl of Trinidad, its cryptic, finely mottled brown plumage providing near-perfect camouflage against tree bark by day, while its deep, resonant hooting call announces its presence in the forest interior at night.
The Mottled Owl is a medium-sized, forest-dwelling owl of Trinidad, its cryptic, finely mottled brown plumage providing near-perfect camouflage against tree bark by day, while its deep, resonant hooting call announces its presence in the forest interior at night.
Identification
A medium-sized owl around 30 to 36 cm long, with dark brown upperparts finely mottled and barred with buff and pale brown, paler, streaked underparts, and dark brown eyes rather than the yellow eyes typical of many owl species. It lacks ear tufts, giving it a rounded head profile, and its mottled plumage renders it almost invisible against tree bark when roosting by day.
Ecology
A nocturnal hunter, the Mottled Owl preys on small mammals, birds, large insects, and occasionally reptiles and amphibians, hunting from a perch within forest and forest edge and dropping onto prey detected by sound or movement below. By day it roosts quietly in dense foliage or against a tree trunk, relying on cryptic plumage to avoid detection. Its deep, far-carrying hooting call is a common night sound of Trinidad's forests, often given in duet between paired birds.
Status in T&T
Found in forest and forest edge across Trinidad, tolerating moderately disturbed woodland. It is not threatened. It is protected under the Conservation of Wildlife Act and is not a game species; as with other owls, it is sometimes subject to persecution driven by superstition in some rural communities.
Threats
- Persecution driven by superstition in some rural communities
- Forest clearance reducing roosting and hunting habitat
