About Strix rufipes P.P.King, 1827
The rufous-legged owl (Strix rufipes P.P.King, 1827) is a compact owl with a round head and no ear tufts. It measures 33 to 38 cm (13 to 15 in) in length and weighs approximately 350 g (12 oz), with females growing larger than males. Adult individuals have a rusty facial disk, white "brows" above dark brown eyes, and white lores. Their upperparts are dark reddish brown, marked with narrow orange-buff bars and spots. The tail is also reddish brown, with buff-colored bars. The throat is white, most underparts are buffy white patterned with many black bars, and the vent area is orange-buff. Feathers covering the legs and toes are buffy. Newly hatched chicks are covered in downy off-white plumage. Juvenile owls are warm buff with faint dusky brown barring and a tawny face. This owl species is distributed in Chile from roughly Valparaíso Province, and in far western Argentina from roughly Mendoza Province, south to the southern tip of Tierra del Fuego. The only known specimen of the subspecies S. r. sanborni was collected on Chiloé Island, off the coast of south-central Chile. The species primarily lives in moist old-growth forest that has a closed canopy and dense understory. It can also be found in older secondary forest and semi-open forest. Its elevational range extends from sea level up to at least 2,000 m (6,600 ft).
