The rufous-legged owl (''Strix rufipes'') is a medium-sized

owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...

. It is found in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

Taxonomy and systematics

The rufous-legged owl has two subspecies, the nominate ''Strix rufipes rufipes'' and ''S. r. sanborni''. The latter is known from a single immature specimen. At one time what is now treated as the Chaco owl (''Strix chacoensis'') was also considered to be a subspecies of rufous-legged owl, but the two differ in plumage, morphology, and voice.Holt, D. W., R. Berkley, C. Deppe, P. L. Enríquez, J. L. Petersen, J. L. Rangel Salazar, K. P. Segars, K. L. Wood, and J. S. Marks (2020). Rufous-legged Owl (''Strix rufipes''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.rulowl1.01 retrieved September 8, 2021

Description

The rufous-legged owl is compact, with a round head and no ear tufts. It is long and weighs about ; females are larger than males. Adults have a rusty

facial disk In ornithology, the facial disc is the concave collection of feathers on the face of some birds—most notably owls—surrounding the eyes. The concavity of the facial disc forms a circular paraboloid that collects sound waves and directs those w ...

, white "brows" over dark brown eyes, and white lores. Its upperparts are dark reddish brown with narrow orange-buff bars and spots. The tail is also reddish brown, with buff bars. The throat is white, most of the underparts are buffy white with many black bars, and the vent area is orange-buff. The legs and toes are covered with buffy feathers. The chick is downy off-white. The juvenile is a warm buff with faint dusky brown barring and a tawny face.

Distribution

The rufous-legged owl is found in Chile from approximately

Valparaíso Province Valparaíso Province () is one of eight provinces of the central Chilean region of Valparaíso (V). Its capital is the coastal city of Valparaíso (pop. 275,982). Administration As a province, Valparaíso is a second-level administrative division ...

and in far western Argentina from approximately

Mendoza Province Mendoza (), officially the Province of Mendoza, is a province of Argentina, in the western central part of the country in the Cuyo region. It borders San Juan to the north, La Pampa and Neuquén to the south, San Luis to the east, and the r ...

south to the tip of

Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South America, South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main is ...

. The one specimen of ''S. r. sanborni'' was taken on

Chiloé Island Chiloé Island (, , ), also known as Greater Island of Chiloé (''Isla Grande de Chiloé''), is the largest island of the Chiloé Archipelago off the west coast of Chile, in the Pacific Ocean. The island is located in southern Chile, in the Los L ...

off the coast of south-central Chile. The species primarily inhabits moist

old-growth forest An old-growth forest or primary forest is a forest that has developed over a long period of time without disturbance. Due to this, old-growth forests exhibit unique ecological features. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Natio ...

with a closed canopy and a dense understory. It is also found in older

secondary forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has regenerated through largely natural processes after human-caused Disturbance (ecology), disturbances, such as Logging, timber harvest or agriculture clearing, or ...

and semi-open forest. In elevation it ranges from sea level to at least .

Behavior

Feeding

The rufous-legged owl is nocturnal and usually hunts from a perch. Its primary prey is small arboreal mammals. Birds, amphibians, and insects are also taken but account for only a small percentage of its diet.

Breeding

The rufous-legged owl's breeding

phenology Phenology is the study of periodic events in biological life cycles and how these are influenced by seasonal and interannual variations in climate, as well as habitat factors (such as elevation). Examples include the date of emergence of leav ...

is poorly known. It probably lays eggs beginning in October; the clutch size is one to three eggs. It usually nests in a tree cavity, either natural or excavated by a woodpecker. It occasionally will use an old raptor nest and is thought to possibly nest on the ground as well.

Vocalization

The rufous-legged owl's vocalizations are "a variety of grunting, hooting, and cackling noises."

Status

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

has assessed the rufous-legged owl as being of Least Concern. It occurs in several protected areas but outside them is potentially threatened by logging of its mature-forest habitat.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1050281

rufous-legged owl The rufous-legged owl (''Strix rufipes'') is a medium-sized owl. It is found in Argentina and Chile. Taxonomy and systematics The rufous-legged owl has two subspecies, the nominate ''Strix rufipes rufipes'' and ''S. r. sanborni''. The latter ...

Birds of Chile Birds of Tierra del Fuego

Fauna of the Valdivian temperate forests