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The Owls of Argentina

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Neotropical Owls

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Abstract

Between 18 and 24 Strigiformes species have been registered in Argentina, with some variations due to the different taxonomic criteria and to take as valid or not some uncertain records. Strigiformes are distributed in all the territory (including islands), although the largest number of species is found in the subtropical forest regions: Paraná rainforest (15 species), Chaco (11 species), and Yungas (9 species). The species are associated with three types of habitat: subtropical forest, temperate forests, and grasslands. There are no endemic species recorded in Argentina. The conservation status has been reconsidered recently—five species have been classified as threatened and four as vulnerable. Alteration and destruction of habitats (especially deforestation and agricultural expansion on natural grasslands) and toxicology are considered the main threats. We reviewed 456 publications, 44% of them are about distribution status, 32% about foraging, 12% about breeding ecology, and 5% about taxonomy and nomenclature. The distribution of those species for which there is better information suggests that studies have focused on the Pampa and northern Patagonia Regions (mainly Patagonian). There is at least minimum knowledge of different biological aspects for all the species, and they are categorized as nonthreatened. Of the nine endangered species, six exclusively inhabit the Paraná rainforest, one species (Strix chacoensis) is in the Chaco subtropical dry forest, one (S. rufipes) is in the forested Patagonian Andes, and one species is found in the Paraná rainforest, Chaco, and Yungas (Asio stygius).

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank JC Chébez who willingly shared his extensive knowledge about the distribution and conservation state of the Argentinean fauna and sadly is no longer with us.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro Regional Bariloche, Universidad Nacional del Comahue, 8400, Bariloche, Argentina

    Ana Trejo

  2. Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Funes 3250, 7600, Mar del Plata, Argentina

    María Susana Bó

Authors
  1. Ana Trejo
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  2. María Susana Bó
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Correspondence to Ana Trejo .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico

    Paula L. Enriquez

Appendix 3.1

Appendix 3.1

Listing of the Strigiformes species found in Argentina, scientific and common names, and conservation category

Species

English common name

Category

Tyto alba

Barn owl

NT

Megascops choliba

Tropical screech owl

NT

Megascops hoyi

Montane forest screech owl

NT

Megascops atricapilla

Black-capped screech owl

VU

Megascops sanctaecatarinae

Long-tufted screech owl

T

Bubo virginianus

Great horned owl

NT

Bubo magellanicus a

Lesser horned owl

–

Pulsatrix perspicillata

Spectacled owl

NT

Pulsatrix koeniswaldiana

Tawny-browed owl

VU

Strix hylophila

Rusty-barred owl

VU

Strix rufipes

Rufous-legged owl

VU

Strix chacoensis

Chaco owl

T

Ciccaba virgata

Mottled owl

T

Ciccaba huhula

Black-banded owl

T

Glaucidium bolivianum

Yungas pygmy owl

NT

Glaucidium brasilianum

Ferruginous pygmy owl

NT

Glaucidium nana

Austral pygmy owl

NT

Athene cunicularia

Burrowing owl

NT

Aegolius harrisii

Buff-fronted owl

NT

Asio clamator

Striped owl

NT

Asio stygius

Stygian owl

T

Asio flammeus

Short-eared owl

NT

  1. For the listing of the species, we have followed Mazar Barnett and Pearman (2001). Nomenclature follows Remsen et al. (2017). Conservation categories were taken from López-Lanús et al. (2008)
  2. NT not threatened, T threatened, VU vulnerable
  3. aNot categorized because it was included in Bubo virginianus

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Trejo, A., Bó, M.S. (2017). The Owls of Argentina. In: Enriquez, P. (eds) Neotropical Owls. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57108-9_3

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