Order
Strigiformes
Family
Strigidae
Genus
Megascops
 
Neotropical Birds logo
Version 1.0

This is a historic version of this account.  Current version

SPECIES

Bearded Screech-Owl Megascops barbarus

Paula L. Enríquez
Version: 1.0 — Published May 6, 2011

Diet and Foraging

Diet

Main food taken


Bearded Screech-Owl is a specialist on invertebrates. Fecal analysis showed that the diet is composed primarily of arthropods such as beetles (Melononthidae and Carabidae: Coleoptera), crickets (Gryllacrididae: Orthoptera), moths (Noctuidae: Lepidoptera) and spiders (Arachnids). Stomach remains of two specimens had cockroach, caterpillars and scorpions (The University of Kansas Natural History Museum [KUNHM] female 35072 and Royal Ontario Museum [ROM] female 118412). Stable isotopes confirm that the species is insectivorous in humid environments (Enríquez et al. 2010). Stable isotope analysis indicated that there was no change in diet among individuals during the period of feather growth, and there was no spatial variation in the use of foraging habitat (Enríquez et al. 2010).

Foraging Behavior

Recommended Citation

Enríquez, P. L. (2011). Bearded Screech-Owl (Megascops barbarus), version 1.0. In Neotropical Birds Online (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/nb.besowl.01