Rufous-legged Owl
Encyclopedia
The Rufous-legged Owl is a medium sized owl
Owl
Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish...

 with no ear tufts. Its upper parts are rufous brown barred with white with more white on the head and nape. It has a rufous facial disk and dark eyes, and its legs and feet are orange-brown to cinnamon. It grows to a size about 33-38 cm long and weighs about 300-400 grams. Its range stretches from central Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

 and west Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 to Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of a main island Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego divided between Chile and Argentina with an area of , and a group of smaller islands including Cape...

 and is occasionally spotted on the Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...

. It lives in dense, moist montane forest and semi-open lowland forest where it can catch small mammals, birds, and insects. It breeds in October and lays 2-3 eggs in a tree hole. Its call is a rapid grunting followed by high pitched nasal noises. Though it is not threatened it does suffer habitat loss because of logging in a large part of its range.
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