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Mottled Owl

Mottled Owl

Strix virgata

Audubon Illustration

Audubon illustration of Mottled Owl

John James Audubon, Birds of America (1827-1838). Public domain.

Range & Recent Observations

Mottled Owlis a year-round resident and doesn't follow a migration flyway. See the Range tab for where it lives.

Last Spotted Near You

View on eBirdWikipedia

About the Mottled Owl

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.

Source: Wikipedia

Classification

Scientific name
Strix virgata
Family
Owls
Order
Strigiformes

Similar species

Other members of the owls family recorded in North America — a useful place to start if you are not certain of your identification.

  • Balsas Screech-Owl Megascops seductus
  • Barred Owl Strix varia
  • Bearded Screech-Owl Megascops barbarus
  • Black-and-white Owl Strix nigrolineata
  • Boreal Owl Aegolius funereus
  • Burrowing Owl Athene cunicularia
  • Central American Pygmy-Owl Glaucidium griseiceps
  • Cinereous Owl Strix sartorii
  • Colima Pygmy-Owl Glaucidium palmarum
  • Crested Owl Lophostrix cristata
  • Eastern Screech-Owl Megascops asio
  • Elf Owl Micrathene whitneyi

Know when the Mottled Owl turns up near you

Add it to your watchlist and draw an alert zone around the places you actually bird. Birdr checks eBird reports and tells you when one is seen inside it.

How rare bird alerts work →

Gear for spotting Mottled Owl

Optics

Best Binoculars for Beginners

You don't need to spend a fortune. These four pairs will get you birding confidently on day one.

8 min readRead guide
Cameras

Cameras for Bird Photography

From phone adapters to dedicated rigs, here's what actually works for capturing birds in the field.

12 min readRead guide
Optics

Spotting Scopes for Distance Birding

Essential for shorebirds, raptors, and anything too far for binoculars. Our tested picks.

9 min readRead guide