Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay (B), Venezuela.
Population
Estimated population is unknown (2020) and stable.
Tropical Screech Owl (Megascops choliba) [XC257739]
by Hans Matheve from Loreto: between Iquitos and mouth of R\u00edo Napo, Peru (song)
Tropical Screech Owl (Megascops choliba) [XC689074]
by Jeff Norris from Pedra do Camelo,Parque Nacional de Itatiaia,Itatiaia,Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (song)
Subspecies
Relationships unclear. Appears to have no close affinities with any other Otus. Has in past included Koepcke's Screech-Owl (Megascops koepckeae) and Peruvian Screech-Owl (Megascops roboratus) as subspecies, but those both clearly distinct in morphology and/or vocalizations. Several additional subspecies described, probably only morphs or result of individual variation: montanus, kelsoi, alticola, caucae, guyanensis and portoricensis included in crucigerus; caatingensis in decussatus; chapadensis in nominate choliba; alilucoco in wetmorei.
The following 9 subspecies are recognised:
luctisonus (Bangs and Penard, 1921) - Costa Rica to north-western Colombia; Pearl Islands (Panama).
margaritae (Cory, 1915) - Margarita I, off northern Venezuela.
duidae (Chapman, 1929) - Duida Mts in southern Venezuela.
crucigerus (von Spix, 1824) - Eastern Colombia and eastern Peru across to Venezuela, Trinidad, the Guianas and north-eastern Brazil. Eastern Colombia to Venezuela, the Guianas, eastern Peru and north-eastern Brazil.
surutus L. Kelso, 1941 - Bolivia.
decussatus (Lichtenstein, MHK, 1823) - Central and eastern Brazil.
choliba (Vieillot, 1817) - Southern Brazil (southern Mato Grosso, Sío Paulo) to eastern Paraguay.
wetmorei (Brodkorb, 1937) - Western Paraguay and northern Argentina (south to Mendoza, northern Buenos Aires and northern Río Negro).
uruguaii Hekstra, 1982 - North-eastern Argentina, south-eastern Brazil (Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul) and Uruguay.