Family Typical Owls (Strigidae)

Least Concern

Rufous-banded Owl (Ciccaba albitarsis)

figure, drawing, illustration of Rufous-banded Owl (Ciccaba albitarsis)

Taxonomy

French: Chouette fasciée German: Rötelkauz Spanish: Cárabo patiblanco
Taxonomy:

Syrnium albitarse

Bonaparte

, 1850,

Bogotá, Colombia

.

Species name often incorrectly spelt as albitarsus. Affinities uncertain; seems not to be closely related to other members of genus. Individual variation rather marked; species sometimes treated as monotypic#R#R#R. Three subspecies tentatively recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution
  • C. a. albitarsis (Bonaparte, 1850) – Andes from N Venezuela S to Ecuador.
  • C. a. opaca J. L. Peters, 1943 – E slope of Andes in Peru.
  • C. a. tertia Todd, 1947 – E slope in W & C Bolivia.

    • Descriptive notes

    30–35 cm; 265–350 g (n = 2 specimens). Medium-sized owl with rounded head and distinctive plumage pattern. Facial disc rufous, becoming blacker around... read more

    Voice

    Fast series of 5–10 short, deep, guttural notes followed by brief pause and then an explosive... read more

    Habitat

    Humid montane evergreen forest and cloudforest, including Podocarpus, with dense... read more

    Food and feeding

    Diet unstudied. Probably insects and small mammals. Nocturnal; active shortly after dark and before dawn. Forages in canopy and reported... read more

    Breeding

    Recently fledged bird found in third week Jun in Colombia; juvenile seen in Aug in Venezuela; no other information.

    Movements

    Presumably resident.

    Status and conservation

    Not globally threatened (Least Concern). CITES II. Status uncertain; no information on global population size or population trends. Locally fairly common, but few reliable... read more

    Recommended citation

    Holt, D.W., Berkley, R., Deppe, C., Enríquez Rocha, P., Petersen, J.L., Rangel Salazar, J.L., Segars, K.P., Wood, K.L. & Marks, J.S. (2019). Rufous-banded Owl (Ciccaba albitarsis). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/55050 on 14 December 2019).