NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Mottled Owl
Strix virgata (Cassin, 1849)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
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.
Wikipedia contributors, Mottled owl; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:18:23.165269+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Strix virgata (Cassin, 1849)
- Name authority
- (Cassin, 1849)
- Common name
- Mottled Owl
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Strigiformes
- Family
- Strigidae
- Genus
- Strix
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderStrigiformes
- familyStrigidae
- subfamilyStriginae
- genusStrix Linnaeus, 1758
- speciesStrix virgata (Cassin, 1849)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Strix. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Rufous-banded OwlStrix albitarsis (Bonaparte, 1850) | StrigidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Hume's OwlStrix butleri (Hume, 1878) | StrigidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Fulvous OwlStrix fulvescens (P. L. Sclater & Salvin, 1868) | StrigidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-and-white OwlStrix nigrolineata (P. L. Sclater, 1859) | StrigidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ural OwlStrix uralensis Pallas, 1771 | StrigidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Barred OwlStrix varia Barton, 1799 | StrigidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| African Wood OwlStrix woodfordii (A. Smith, 1834) | StrigidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Maghreb OwlStrix mauritanica (Witherby, 1905) | StrigidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Tawny OwlStrix aluco Linnaeus, 1758 | StrigidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Chaco OwlStrix chacoensis Cherrie & Reichenberger, 1921 | StrigidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-banded OwlStrix huhula Daudin, 1800 | StrigidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Rusty-barred OwlStrix hylophila Temminck, 1825 | StrigidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Ciccaba virgata (Cassin, 1849) (Cassin, 1849) | synonym |
| Syrnium virgatum Cassin, 1849 Cassin, 1849 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
North America
South America
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=686689 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:532KS. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.