Pulsatrix perspicillata

spectacled owl

Features
By Cecilia Patino

Geographic Range

Pulsatrix perspicillata can be found from Southern Mexico through Argentina. It can also be found on Carribean islands such as Trinidad.

Habitat

Spectacled owls live near water in rainforest and woodlands. They can be found from sea level to elevations of 1600 m.

Physical Description

Spectacled owls are characterized by white "spectacles" around their bright yellow eyes. They have dark brown plumage on their upper parts and off-white or light yellow plumage on their breast. They have a thin white stripe around the throat with a thick dark brown stripe below. Coloration is reversed in juveniles; they are mostly white with a brown/black facial disk.

Spectacled owls are 43 to 46 cm long, males weigh 453 to 680 g and females weigh 680 to 906 g. Their wingpans are from 0.762 to 0.914 m.

  • Sexual Dimorphism
  • female larger

Development

The incubation period of an embryo is from 6-8 months. Juveniles leave the nest before they are able to fly, but frequently return to eat. They go through almost five years of molting before they attain their adult plummage when in captivity.In the wild they may molt within three years.They attempt to fly within two years. Yet only after the long molting period can they fly efficiently.(Burton, 1984)

Reproduction

Spectacled owls are monogamous.

Breeding occurs in the dry season or the beginning of the wet season (April to June or September to October depending on location). They build their nests inside tree cavities. Females lay a maximum of two eggs and often only one chick will survive. Young fledge after 5 to 6 weeks; they are often dependent on their parents for up to a year. Spectacled owls reach maturity in 3 to 5 years.

Both the male and female assist in raising young, but most of the responsiblity rests on the female. They each take turns sitting on the eggs while the other goes out to hunt. The chicks leave the nest before they can fly and often remain with their parents for a year after fledging.

  • Parental Investment
  • no parental involvement
  • altricial
  • pre-fertilization
  • pre-hatching/birth
    • protecting
      • male
      • female
  • pre-weaning/fledging
    • provisioning
  • pre-independence
    • provisioning

Lifespan/Longevity

With very few predators, this species can live up to 35 years in the wild. They are known to live for 25 to 30 years in captivity.

Behavior

Spectacled owls are typically nocturnal, but have been known to hunt during the day on some occasions. They are not known to be migratory.

Home Range

We do not have information on home range for this species at this time.

Communication and Perception

Males have a distinct call that sounds like a hammer hitting a hollow tree repeatedly; the sound descends in volume. Females have a loud screeching call used mostly to attract males during the mating season.

Food Habits

Spectacled owls are very fast, and once they spot their prey they will swoop down, snatch up the prey, and return to their perch. They will also glean insects from vegetation. They are carnivorous and mostly eat mice and insects. They are also known to eat crabs, bats, possums, skunks, frogs and smaller birds no larger than a blue jay. They usually hunt at night, but will occasionally hunt during the day.

  • Animal Foods
  • birds
  • mammals
  • amphibians
  • insects
  • terrestrial non-insect arthropods

Predation

Because spectacled owls hide in foliage that hangs low, they are not easily detected by predators. They are sometimes preyed upon by larger birds (class Aves ).

Ecosystem Roles

Spectacled owls are important members of their ecosystem; because of their food habits they likely have a regulatory influence on insect and mammal populations, and they are an important food source for their predators.

Economic Importance for Humans: Positive

Spectacled owls help eliminate pests species, such as insects and mice that can destroy crops.

  • Positive Impacts
  • controls pest population

Economic Importance for Humans: Negative

There are no known adverse affects of spectacled owls on humans.

Conservation Status

Spectacled owls are listed under Appendix II by CITES but have not been evlauated by the IUCN. They could become severely threatened if rainforests and other forested areas in South America continue to be cut down for agriculture and lumber industries.

There have already been efforts to conserve spectacled owls. Many are bred in captivity and released in the wild, while others are kept in zoos and conservatories.

Encyclopedia of Life

Contributors

Alaine Camfield (editor), Animal Diversity Web.

Cecilia Patino (author), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Kerry Yurewicz (editor), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.

Neotropical

living in the southern part of the New World. In other words, Central and South America.

World Map

native range

the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.

temperate

that region of the Earth between 23.5 degrees North and 60 degrees North (between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle) and between 23.5 degrees South and 60 degrees South (between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle).

tropical

the region of the earth that surrounds the equator, from 23.5 degrees north to 23.5 degrees south.

forest

forest biomes are dominated by trees, otherwise forest biomes can vary widely in amount of precipitation and seasonality.

rainforest

rainforests, both temperate and tropical, are dominated by trees often forming a closed canopy with little light reaching the ground. Epiphytes and climbing plants are also abundant. Precipitation is typically not limiting, but may be somewhat seasonal.

riparian

Referring to something living or located adjacent to a waterbody (usually, but not always, a river or stream).

monogamous

Having one mate at a time.

iteroparous

offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).

seasonal breeding

breeding is confined to a particular season

sexual

reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female

fertilization

union of egg and spermatozoan

oviparous

reproduction in which eggs are released by the female; development of offspring occurs outside the mother's body.

altricial

young are born in a relatively underdeveloped state; they are unable to feed or care for themselves or locomote independently for a period of time after birth/hatching. In birds, naked and helpless after hatching.

diurnal
  1. active during the day, 2. lasting for one day.
nocturnal

active during the night

motile

having the capacity to move from one place to another.

sedentary

remains in the same area

acoustic

uses sound to communicate

carnivore

an animal that mainly eats meat

insectivore

An animal that eats mainly insects or spiders.

endothermic

animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.

bilateral symmetry

having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.

visual

uses sight to communicate

tactile

uses touch to communicate

acoustic

uses sound to communicate

chemical

uses smells or other chemicals to communicate

References

Austin, O. 1971. Families of Birds . New York: Golden Press.

Burton, P., M. Fogden, H. Ginn, D. Glue, G. Hekstra. 1984. Owls of the World . Great Britiain: Peter Lowe.

Owl Pages, Date Unknown. "Spectacled Owls - Pulsatrix perspicillata" (On-line). Accessed February 25, 2004 at http://www.owlpages.com/species/pulsatrix/perspicillata/Default.htm .

Owling.com, 2002. "Spectacled Owl - Pulsatrix perspicillata" (On-line). Accessed February 11, 2004 at http://owling.com/Spectacled.htm .

Perrins, C., A. Middleton. 1985. The Encyclopedia of Birds . New York: Facts on File.

Sedgwick County Zoo, 2001. "Sedgwick County Zoo- See our World" (On-line). Accessed 02/11/04 at http://www.scz.org/animals/o/spowl.html .

To cite this page: Patino, C. 2002. "Pulsatrix perspicillata" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed {%B %d, %Y} at https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Pulsatrix_perspicillata/

Last updated: 2002-05-22 / Generated: 2025-10-03 00:57

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