Black-and-white owl

Black-and-white Owl
Scientific classification
Kingdom Information
Domain	Eukaryota
Kingdom	Animalia
Subkingdom	Bilateria
Branch	Deuterostomia
Phylum Information
Phylum	Chordata
Sub-phylum	Vertebrata
Infraphylum	Gnathostomata
Class Information
Superclass	Tetrapoda
Class	Aves
Sub-class	Neornithes
Infra-class	Neoaves
Order Information
Order	Strigiformes
Family Information
Family	Strigidae
Sub-family	Striginae
Genus Information
Genus	Strix
Species Information
Species	S. nigrolineata
Synonyms	Ciccaba nigrolineata
Population statistics

The black-and-white owl (Strix nigrolineata) is a species of owl of the family Strigidae, and found in Central and South America.

Description

It is a medium-sized owl, with a length of 13.7 to 15.7 inches. It is a conspicuously dark feathered owl; its upper plumage is brownish-black, while its underside is white with thin black horizontal barring, which extends up to the sides of the face and encircling the facial disk. The disk itself is black with dark brown eyes, and gives the bird an appearance of having eyes that are larger than they actually are. In contrast, both beak and feet are yellow in color.

Black-and-white owls have a range which extends from Central Mexico south through Central America up to the northwest of Colombia, Venezuela and the west of Ecuador, reaching south to the extreme north-west of Peru. They live in the rainforest, and will also be seen in clearings and forest edges as well as open marshes, from sea level to an elevation up to 7,300 feet.

Black-and-white owls are one of four species formerly of the genus Ciccaba; genetics suggested a closer relationship to birds of the genus Strix than was previously believed, resulting in a change of classification.

References

• König, Claus, and Weick, Friedhelm. Owls of the World; Christopher Helm, London (2008)