Bearded screech owl
Megascops barbarus (P. L. Sclater & Salvin, 1868)
The bearded screech owl (Megascops barbarus) is a species in the family Strigidae, order Strigiformes. Recorded adults weigh 67 g to 69 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Quick facts about the bearded screech owl
- Weight
- 67 g – 69 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4.5src for Young per litter or clutch
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the bearded screech owl live?
Not recorded
What is the bearded screech owl?
The bearded screech owl or Santa Barbara screech owl (Megascops barbarus) is a small "typical owl" in subfamily Striginae. It is found in Guatemala and Mexico.
From the Wikipedia article “Bearded screech owl” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bearded_screech_owl&oldid=1371316631), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the bearded screech owl endangered?
The bearded screech owl is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the bearded screech owl classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderStrigiformes
- familyStrigidae
- genusMegascops
- SpeciesMegascops barbarus (P. L. Sclater & Salvin, 1868)
Synonyms Otus barbarus, Otus barbarus, Scops barbarus
Other names and names in other languages (38)
- Bearded screech-owlEnglish
- Bearded screech-owlEnglish
- Bearded screech-owlEnglish
- Santa barbara screech-owlEnglish
- Santa barbara screech-owlEnglish
- Santa barbara screech-owlEnglish
- xot barbutCatalan
- výreček vousatýCzech
- Santa Barbara-dværghornugleDanish
- TropfenkreischeuleGerman
- Tropfen-KreischeuleGerman
- TropfeneuleGerman
- barba kriĉostrigoEsperanto
- Autillo barbudoSpanish
- Tecolote barbudoSpanish
- maia pällEstonian
- guatemalanpöllönenFinnish
- Asion bridéFrench
- Petit-duc bridéFrench
- gvatemalski ćukCroatian
- cseppfoltos füleskuvikHungarian
- Assiolo barbutoItalian
- Assiolo di Santa BarbaraItalian
- ヒゲオオコノハズクJapanese
- barzdotasis apuokėlisLithuanian
- Santa-BarbaraschreeuwuilDutch
- guatemalaugleNorwegian
- syczoń oczkowanyPolish
- corujinha-barbudaPortuguese
- Бородатая совкаRussian
- výrček bradatýSlovak
- Bradati američki ćukSerbian
- chiapasskrikuvSwedish
- Sakallı PuhucukTurkish
- сплюшка чіапськаUkrainian
- сплюшка чіяпськаUkrainian
- 须角鸮Chinese
- 鬚鳴角鴞Chinese
Relatives of the bearded screech owl
Other species in the same genus Megascops.

Eastern screech owl
Megascops asio

Western screech owl
Megascops kennicottii

Tropical screech owl
Megascops choliba

Whiskered screech owl
Megascops trichopsis

Bare-shanked screech owl
Megascops clarkii

Pacific screech owl
Megascops cooperi
CompareBearded screech owl vs Eastern screech owlBearded screech owl vs Western screech owlBearded screech owl vs Tropical screech owlBearded screech owl vs Whiskered screech owl
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the bearded screech owl?
An adult bearded screech owl weighs 67 g – 69 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the bearded screech owl endangered?
The bearded screech owl is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
What kind of animal is the bearded screech owl?
The bearded screech owl (Megascops barbarus) belongs to the family Strigidae in the order Strigiformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Bearded screech owl (Megascops barbarus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/bearded-screech-owl
“Bearded screech owl (Megascops barbarus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/bearded-screech-owl.
@misc{bearded_screech_owl_2026,
title = {Bearded screech owl (Megascops barbarus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/bearded-screech-owl},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}