---
title: "Mottled Owl"
description: "Strix virgata — Uccelli. The mottled owl (Strix virgata) is a medium-sized owl found in Central and South America from Mexico to Brazil and Argentina."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/it/animal/mottled-owl
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Mottled Owl

> Strix virgata — Uccelli. The mottled owl (Strix virgata) is a medium-sized owl found in Central and South America from Mexico to Brazil and Argentina.

- Scientific name: *Strix virgata*
- Category: `birds` (Uccelli)
- Habitats: `forest` (Foresta), `jungle` (Giungla)
- iNaturalist observations: 3116
- Wikidata: [Q185279](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q185279)
- iNaturalist taxon: [72674](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/72674)

## Names

- en: Mottled Owl
- de: Sprenkelkauz
- es: Búho café
- fr: Chouette mouchetée
- nl: Bonte bosuil
- pt: Coruja-do-mato
- pl: Dżunglarka pstra

## Countries with the most observations

MX (1250), CR (555), BR (179), GT (128), US (111), CO (95), PA (86), SV (71), BZ (66), HN (61), EC (55), NI (54)

## Summary

The mottled owl (Strix virgata) is a medium-sized owl found in Central and South America from Mexico to Brazil and Argentina. The head and back are mottled brown and the underparts whitish, with vertical bars on the chest and throat. The eyes are dark and the head is round and they do not have ear tufts. They are territorial and found in dry forests and jungles at altitudes of up to 2,500 m (8,200 ft) above sea level.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mottled_owl

## Photo

![Mottled Owl](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/mottled-owl/medium.jpg)

Photo: Sinaloa Silvestre · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/163219073

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/mottled-owl?lang=it` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).