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Seeing Fulvous Owl in Guatemala with CAYAYA BIRDING

Fulvous Owl in Guatemala
Juvenile Fulvous Owl with prey in the highlands of Guatemala.

Fulvous Owl (Strix fulvescens) is endemic to the highlands of southern Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. In Guatemala it lives mainly in cloud forests above 1,800 m, but occurs also in high-elevation pine-oak and conifer forests. Fulvous Owl is closely related to the Barred Owl (Strix varia) of North America and central Mexico (including subspecies sartorii, by some considered a species). Its far-carrying calls make Fulvous Owl one of the most obvious owl species of the Guatemalan highlands.

Fulvous Owl habitat in Guatemala
Cloud forest, habitat of Fulvous Owl in the highlands of Guatemala.

Fulvous Owl is common in Guatemalan humid high elevation forests, where it replaces Mexican Wood Owl (Strix squamulata), which is common in lowland and foothill forests. Most of the CAYAYA BIRDING tours include sites with good chances of seeing Fulvous Owl.

Fulvous Owl
Fulvous Owl Strix fulvescens in a misty cloud forest in the Guatemalan highlands.

Get in touch to organize your tour for watching Fulvous Owl and other regional endemic birds in Guatemala.

Photographs of Fulvous Owl seen during CAYAYA BIRDING tours in Guatemala

Fulvous Owl Fulvous Owl Fulvous Owl, by David McDonald roosting Fulvous Owl Fulvous Owl Fulvous Owl Fulvous Owl Fulvous Owl adult with juvenile juvenile Fulvous Owl juvenile Fulvous Owl juvenile Fulvous Owl juvenile Fulvous Owl juvenile Fulvous Owl Fulvous Owl on day roost Fulvous Owl, by Stefan Johansson

Videos of Fulvous Owl seen during CAYAYA BIRDING tours in Guatemala

Calling Fulvous Owl Strix fulvescens in a cloud forest in the highlands of Guatemala.

Start here planning your birding trip to Guatemala:


Fulvous Owl in cloud forest
Adult Fulvous Owl in a mossy cloud forest in the highlands of Guatemala.

Contributions by Knut Eisermann and Claudia Avendaño of CAYAYA BIRDING to the knowledge about Fulvous Owl

  • Eisermann, K. & C. Avendaño (2018) An update on the inventory, distribution and residency status of bird species in Guatemala. Bulletin British Ornithologists' Club 138: 148-229.
  • Eisermann, K. & C. Avendaño (2017) The owls of Guatemala. 447-515 in P. L. Enríquez (ed.) Neotropical owls: diversity and conservation. Springer, Cham, Switzerland.
  • Enríquez, P. L., K. Eisermann, H. Mikkola & J. C. Motta-Junior (2017) A review of the systematics of Neotropical owls (Strigiformes). 7-19 in P. L. Enríquez (ed.) Neotropical owls: diversity and conservation. Springer, Cham, Switzerland.
  • Eisermann, K. & C. Avendaño (2015) Los búhos de Guatemala. 381-434 in P. L. Enríquez (ed.) Los búhos neotropicales: diversidad y conservación. ECOSUR, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, México.
  • Eisermann, K., C. Avendaño & P. Tanimoto (2013). Birds of the Cerro El Amay Important Bird Area, Quiché, Guatemala. Cotinga 35: 81-93.
  • Eisermann, K. & C. Avendaño (2009) Guatemala. Pp. 235-242 In: C. Devenish, D. F. Diaz Fernández, R. P. Clay, I. Davidson & I. Y. Zabala (eds.) Important Bird Areas Americas, priority sites for biodiversity conservation. BirdLife Conservation Series 16. Birdlife International, Quito, Ecuador.
  • Eisermann, K. & C. Avendaño (2009) Conservation priority-setting in Guatemala through the identification of Important Bird Areas. Proceedings of the Fourth International Partners in Flight Conference, Tundra to Tropics: 315-327.
  • Eisermann, K. & C. Avendaño (2007) Lista comentada de las aves de Guatemala - Annotated checklist of the birds of Guatemala. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.
  • Eisermann, K. & C. Avendaño (2006) Diversidad de aves en Guatemala, con una lista bibliográfica. Pp. 525-623 In: E. Cano (ed.) Biodiversidad de Guatemala, Vol. 1. Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala.
  • Eisermann, K. & U. Schulz (2005) Birds of a high-altitude cloud forest in Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. Revista de Biología Tropical 53: 577-594.
  • More about our bird research in Guatemala.
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