Pulsatrix perspicillataspectacled owl

Ge­o­graphic Range

Pul­satrix per­spic­il­lata can be found from South­ern Mex­ico through Ar­gentina. It can also be found on Car­ribean is­lands such as Trinidad. (Bur­ton, et al., 1984; Owl Pages, Date Un­known)

Habi­tat

Spec­ta­cled owls live near water in rain­for­est and wood­lands. They can be found from sea level to el­e­va­tions of 1600 m. (Bur­ton, et al., 1984; Owl Pages, Date Un­known; Owling.​com, 2002)

  • Range elevation
    0 to 1600 m
    0.00 to 5249.34 ft

Phys­i­cal De­scrip­tion

Spec­ta­cled owls are char­ac­ter­ized by white "spec­ta­cles" around their bright yel­low eyes. They have dark brown plumage on their upper parts and off-white or light yel­low plumage on their breast. They have a thin white stripe around the throat with a thick dark brown stripe below. Col­oration is re­versed in ju­ve­niles; they are mostly white with a brown/black fa­cial disk.

Spec­ta­cled owls are 43 to 46 cm long, males weigh 453 to 680 g and fe­males weigh 680 to 906 g. Their wing­pans are from 0.762 to 0.914 m. (Bur­ton, et al., 1984; Owl Pages, Date Un­known; Owling.​com, 2002; Sedg­wick County Zoo, 2001)

  • Sexual Dimorphism
  • female larger
  • Range mass
    453 to 906 g
    15.96 to 31.93 oz
  • Range length
    43 to 46 cm
    16.93 to 18.11 in
  • Range wingspan
    0.762 to 0.914 m
    2.50 to 3.00 ft

De­vel­op­ment

The in­cu­ba­tion pe­riod of an em­bryo is from 6-8 months. Ju­ve­niles leave the nest be­fore they are able to fly, but fre­quently re­turn to eat. They go through al­most five years of molt­ing be­fore they at­tain their adult plum­mage when in captivity.​In the wild they may molt within three years.​They at­tempt to fly within two years. Yet only after the long molt­ing pe­riod can they fly ef­fi­ciently.(Bur­ton, 1984)

Re­pro­duc­tion

Spec­ta­cled owls are monog­a­mous.

Breed­ing oc­curs in the dry sea­son or the be­gin­ning of the wet sea­son (April to June or Sep­tem­ber to Oc­to­ber de­pend­ing on lo­ca­tion). They build their nests in­side tree cav­i­ties. Fe­males lay a max­i­mum of two eggs and often only one chick will sur­vive. Young fledge after 5 to 6 weeks; they are often de­pen­dent on their par­ents for up to a year. Spec­ta­cled owls reach ma­tu­rity in 3 to 5 years. (Austin, 1971; Owl Pages, Date Un­known; Owling.​com, 2002)

  • Breeding season
    Breeding occurs in the dry season or the beginning of the wet season.
  • Range eggs per season
    1 to 2
  • Average eggs per season
    2
    AnAge
  • Average time to hatching
    36 days
    AnAge
  • Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
    3 to 5 years
  • Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)
    3 to 5 years

Both the male and fe­male as­sist in rais­ing young, but most of the re­spon­si­b­lity rests on the fe­male. They each take turns sit­ting on the eggs while the other goes out to hunt. The chicks leave the nest be­fore they can fly and often re­main with their par­ents for a year after fledg­ing. (Owl Pages, Date Un­known; Owling.​com, 2002)

  • Parental Investment
  • no parental involvement
  • altricial
  • pre-fertilization
  • pre-hatching/birth
    • protecting
      • male
      • female
  • pre-weaning/fledging
    • provisioning
  • pre-independence
    • provisioning

Lifes­pan/Longevity

With very few preda­tors, this species can live up to 35 years in the wild. They are known to live for 25 to 30 years in cap­tiv­ity.

  • Range lifespan
    Status: wild
    35 (high) years
  • Range lifespan
    Status: captivity
    25 to 30 years
  • Average lifespan
    Status: captivity
    25 years
    AnAge

Be­hav­ior

Spec­ta­cled owls are typ­i­cally noc­tur­nal, but have been known to hunt dur­ing the day on some oc­ca­sions. They are not known to be mi­gra­tory. (Owling.​com, 2002)

Home Range

We do not have in­for­ma­tion on home range for this species at this time.

Com­mu­ni­ca­tion and Per­cep­tion

Males have a dis­tinct call that sounds like a ham­mer hit­ting a hol­low tree re­peat­edly; the sound de­scends in vol­ume. Fe­males have a loud screech­ing call used mostly to at­tract males dur­ing the mat­ing sea­son. (Owl Pages, Date Un­known; Owling.​com, 2002)

Food Habits

Spec­ta­cled owls are very fast, and once they spot their prey they will swoop down, snatch up the prey, and re­turn to their perch. They will also glean in­sects from veg­e­ta­tion. They are car­niv­o­rous and mostly eat mice and in­sects. They are also known to eat crabs, bats, pos­sums, skunks, frogs and smaller birds no larger than a blue jay. They usu­ally hunt at night, but will oc­ca­sion­ally hunt dur­ing the day. (Owl Pages, Date Un­known; Owling.​com, 2002; Sedg­wick County Zoo, 2001)

  • Animal Foods
  • birds
  • mammals
  • amphibians
  • insects
  • terrestrial non-insect arthropods

Pre­da­tion

Be­cause spec­ta­cled owls hide in fo­liage that hangs low, they are not eas­ily de­tected by preda­tors. They are some­times preyed upon by larger birds (class Aves).

  • Known Predators
    • other birds (Aves)

Ecosys­tem Roles

Spec­ta­cled owls are im­por­tant mem­bers of their ecosys­tem; be­cause of their food habits they likely have a reg­u­la­tory in­flu­ence on in­sect and mam­mal pop­u­la­tions, and they are an im­por­tant food source for their preda­tors.

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Pos­i­tive

Spec­ta­cled owls help elim­i­nate pests species, such as in­sects and mice that can de­stroy crops.

  • Positive Impacts
  • controls pest population

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Neg­a­tive

There are no known ad­verse af­fects of spec­ta­cled owls on hu­mans.

Con­ser­va­tion Sta­tus

Spec­ta­cled owls are listed under Ap­pen­dix II by CITES but have not been evlau­ated by the IUCN. They could be­come se­verely threat­ened if rain­forests and other forested areas in South Amer­ica con­tinue to be cut down for agri­cul­ture and lum­ber in­dus­tries.

There have al­ready been ef­forts to con­serve spec­ta­cled owls. Many are bred in cap­tiv­ity and re­leased in the wild, while oth­ers are kept in zoos and con­ser­va­to­ries.

Con­trib­u­tors

Alaine Cam­field (ed­i­tor), An­i­mal Di­ver­sity Web.

Ce­cilia Patino (au­thor), Uni­ver­sity of Michi­gan-Ann Arbor, Kerry Yurewicz (ed­i­tor), Uni­ver­sity of Michi­gan-Ann Arbor.

Glossary

Neotropical

living in the southern part of the New World. In other words, Central and South America.

World Map

acoustic

uses sound to communicate

altricial

young are born in a relatively underdeveloped state; they are unable to feed or care for themselves or locomote independently for a period of time after birth/hatching. In birds, naked and helpless after hatching.

bilateral symmetry

having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.

carnivore

an animal that mainly eats meat

chemical

uses smells or other chemicals to communicate

diurnal
  1. active during the day, 2. lasting for one day.
endothermic

animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.

fertilization

union of egg and spermatozoan

forest

forest biomes are dominated by trees, otherwise forest biomes can vary widely in amount of precipitation and seasonality.

insectivore

An animal that eats mainly insects or spiders.

iteroparous

offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).

monogamous

Having one mate at a time.

motile

having the capacity to move from one place to another.

native range

the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.

nocturnal

active during the night

oviparous

reproduction in which eggs are released by the female; development of offspring occurs outside the mother's body.

rainforest

rainforests, both temperate and tropical, are dominated by trees often forming a closed canopy with little light reaching the ground. Epiphytes and climbing plants are also abundant. Precipitation is typically not limiting, but may be somewhat seasonal.

riparian

Referring to something living or located adjacent to a waterbody (usually, but not always, a river or stream).

seasonal breeding

breeding is confined to a particular season

sedentary

remains in the same area

sexual

reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female

tactile

uses touch to communicate

temperate

that region of the Earth between 23.5 degrees North and 60 degrees North (between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle) and between 23.5 degrees South and 60 degrees South (between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle).

tropical

the region of the earth that surrounds the equator, from 23.5 degrees north to 23.5 degrees south.

visual

uses sight to communicate

Ref­er­ences

Austin, O. 1971. Fam­i­lies of Birds. New York: Golden Press.

Bur­ton, P., M. Fog­den, H. Ginn, D. Glue, G. Hek­stra. 1984. Owls of the World. Great Briti­ain: Peter Lowe.

Owl Pages, Date Un­known. "Spec­ta­cled Owls - Pul­satrix per­spic­il­lata" (On-line). Ac­cessed Feb­ru­ary 25, 2004 at http://​www.​owlpages.​com/​species/​pulsatrix/​perspicillata/​Default.​htm.

Owling.​com, 2002. "Spec­ta­cled Owl - Pul­satrix per­spic­il­lata" (On-line). Ac­cessed Feb­ru­ary 11, 2004 at http://​owling.​com/​Spectacled.​htm.

Per­rins, C., A. Mid­dle­ton. 1985. The En­cy­clo­pe­dia of Birds. New York: Facts on File.

Sedg­wick County Zoo, 2001. "Sedg­wick County Zoo- See our World" (On-line). Ac­cessed 02/11/04 at http://​www.​scz.​org/​animals/​o/​spowl.​html.