Family Typical Owls (Strigidae)
Least Concern
Black-banded Owl (Ciccaba huhula)
Taxonomy
French: Chouette huhul German: Zebrakauz Spanish: Cárabo negro
Taxonomy:
Strix huhula
Daudin
, 1800,Cayenne
.
Subspecies and Distribution
C. h. huhula
(Daudin, 1800) – E Colombia, S Venezuela and the Guianas to NE Brazil, S to E Peru and NW Argentina#R.
C. h. albomarginata
(Spix, 1824) – SE Brazil, E Paraguay and NE Argentina (Misiones).
Descriptive notes
30–36 cm; 397 g (one unsexed specimen). Facial disc blackish, eyebrows and margins of disc speckled white; entire body blackish-brown, upperparts with very narrow and... read more
Voice
Gives a variety of vocalizations around nest. Typical song an ascending series of 4 deep and low-... read more
Habitat
Humid forest and clearings; also in Araucaria forest in S of range. In some areas has... read more
Food and feeding
Primarily insects, especially moths, beetles, locusts and mantids; small mammals and other small vertebrates also reported. In NE Argentina... read more
Breeding
Nest found in NE Argentina had 1 nestling in Oct–Nov 2010 and 1 egg from Sept to Nov 2012; nest was in the main fork of a tree (... read more
Movements
Presumably resident.
Status and conservation
Not globally threatened (Least Concern). CITES II. Appears to be scarce throughout entire range; no quantitative figures available for numbers or population trends. Nominate... read more
Apparently closest to C. nigrolineata; sometimes treated as conspecific with latter, but differs in size, voice and plumage. An owl discovered in N Ecuador (W Napo) recently identified as of present species, but voice somewhat different (more like that of C. nigrolineata#R); may be an undescribed race or even a new species (“San Isidro Owl”); further studies, including larger DNA samples for analysis, needed. Two subspecies currently recognized.