page_title: List of birds of Costa Rica
section_title: Owls
hierarchical_section_title: List of birds of Costa Rica / Owls
caption_attribution_description: Black-and-white Owl (Ciccaba nigrolineata) in the central plaza at Orotina, Costa Rica, 080221. Ciccaba nigrolineta. This pair has been resident at this plaza for about 15 years.
context_page_description: Although Costa Rica is a small country, it is in the bird-rich neotropical region and has a huge number of species for its area. The official bird list published by the Costa Rican Rare Birds and Records Committee of the Asociación Ornitológica de Costa Rica contained 922 species as of August 2019. This number is more than have been recorded in all of the 49 mainland United States and Canada combined. Of those species, seven are endemic, 69 are rare or accidental, and four have been introduced by humans. Another 73 are near-endemic with ranges that include only Costa Rica and Panama. Twenty-seven species, including five of the seven endemics, are globally vulnerable or endangered. Over an area of 51,100 km², an area smaller than West Virginia, this is the greatest density of bird species of any continental American country. About 600 species are resident, with most of the other regular visitors being winter migrants from North America.
  Costa Rica's geological formation played a large role in the diversification of avian species.
context_section_description: Order: Strigiformes   Family: Strigidae
  The typical owls are small to large solitary nocturnal birds of prey. They have large forward-facing eyes and ears, a hawk-like beak, and a conspicuous circle of feathers around each eye called a facial disk.
  Bare-shanked screech-owl, Megascops clarkii
  Tropical screech-owl, Megascops choliba
  Pacific screech-owl, Megascops cooperi
  Middle-American screech-owl, Megascops guatemalae
  Crested owl, Lophostrix cristata
  Spectacled owl, Pulsatrix perspicillata
  Great horned owl, Bubo virginianus
  Costa Rican pygmy-owl, Glaucidium costaricanum (E-R)
  Central American pygmy-owl, Glaucidium griseiceps
  Ferruginous pygmy-owl, Glaucidium brasilianum
  Burrowing owl, Athene cunicularia (A)
  Mottled owl, Ciccaba virgata
  Black-and-white owl, Ciccaba nigrolineata
  Short-eared owl, Asio flammeus (A)
  Striped owl, Pseudoscops clamator
  Unspotted saw-whet owl, Aegolius ridgwayi
caption: Black-and-white owl
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