Black-and-white Owl
Where and when to see the Black-and-white Owl
DraftOn the Yucatán Peninsula
It lives in humid forest, mangroves and groves, and also comes into towns and gardens with big trees. It is nocturnal: go out after dark and follow its hoots.
Where it’s reported most
We don’t name sites, so as not to disturb a sensitive species.
Data: eBird and other datasets via GBIF.org (CC BY 4.0), 2015–2025 · Base map: Natural Earth
Roosts by day in dense foliage of tall forest and hunts at night along edges and clearings. It takes large insects and bats, and sometimes hunts around lights in villages next to the selva.
- Identification
- A large, round-headed owl without ear tufts. It is sooty black above and on the face, with speckled white eyebrows, and white below with fine black bars. The eyes are dark and the bill and feet are bright orange-yellow.
- Voice
- Deep hoots that end in a stronger note, like “hu, hu, hu, hóo-ah”, and a cat-like scream.
What the photo doesn’t show
DraftUnder the street light
Some have learned to hunt under street lights, catching bats and insects drawn to the light, and there they are easy to watch. 1,2
Beetles and bats
It eats mostly insects, especially scarab beetles, along with bats and small rodents. Because so much of its prey flies, it hunts high in the trees. 1,2,3
A tiny clutch
It lays just one or two eggs, in a tree fork, a clump of bromeliads, an old nest of another animal or a tree hole. 1,3
A look-alike in reverse
It has a look-alike in eastern South America, the Black-banded Owl (Strix huhula), which looks like its negative: black above and below, marked with narrow white bars. 1
Sources
- Birds of the World (Cornell Lab): Black-and-white Owl (opens in a new tab)
- eBird: Black-and-white Owl (opens in a new tab)
- Wikipedia: Black-and-white owl (opens in a new tab)
- IUCN Red List category, via GBIF: Strix (Ciccaba) nigrolineata (opens in a new tab)
- DOF, 14/11/2019: NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010, Anexo III (opens in a new tab)
Map and months: 52 records from 2015–2025 from eBird and Inventario de aves y mamíferos en humedales de Laguna de Términos y Pantanos de Centla en Tabasco y Campeche, via GBIF.org (CC BY 4.0), in 0.1° squares (about 10 km). eBird: doi.org/10.15468/aomfnb.
A blank square: few or no reports, not necessarily absent.
Tell us where, or ask how to find one.
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