Wildlife: At Dusk, a Spectacled Owl readies for the hunt in the Northern Jungles of Guatemala

An Spectacled Owl is seen in the jungles of Petén, Guatemala. The spectacled owl Pulsatrix perspicillata is a large tropical owl native to the neotropics. It is a resident breeder in forests from southern Mexico and Trinidad, through Central America, to southern Brazil, Paraguay and northwestern Argentina. There are six subspecies. One is occasional treated as a separate species called the short-browed or brown spectacled owl but the consensus is that it is a race until more detailed anasis can be done. The spectacled owl is primari a bird of tropical rain forests, being found most in areas where dense, old-growth forest is profuse. However, it may enter secondary habitats, such as forest edges, especial while hunting. On occasion, they have been found in dry forests, treed savanna plains, plantations and semi-open areas with trees. In areas such as Costa Rica, they may inhabit subtropical montane forests, although are general associated with lowland forests. This species is large nocturnal, starting activity right around the time of last light at dusk and usual being back on their roosts for the day around first light. It is a solitary, unsocial bird, usual roosting sing each day and on peaceable associating with others of their own species for reproductive purposes. It preys principal on a wide array of mammals, eating almost anything that is nocturnal active. Rodents may be primary but any type of small mammal in its habitat is vulnerable.

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