Choco Screech-Owl

SCI Name:  Megascops centralis
Protonym:  Otus guatemalae centralis Bull.Zool.Mus.Amst. 9 (7) p. 57
Taxonomy:  Strigiformes / Strigidae / Megascops
Taxonomy Code:  versco2
Type Locality:  
Author:  Hekstra
Publish Year:  1982
IUCN Status:  

DEFINITIONS

MEGASCOPS
(Strigidae; Ϯ Eastern Screech Owl M. asio) Gr. μεγας megas, μεγαλη  megalē  great; genus Scops Brünnich, 1772, owl. "5tes Subgenus. Megascops, Kp., Asiones, Schleg.  Schnabel vorgestreckt. Flügel kurz und stumpf. 1ste Schwinge so lang wie die 10te. 1ste bis 5te Schwinge an der Aussen- und Innenfahne deutlich ausgeschnitten. Fusswurzel befiedert. Zehen meist vollständig nackt.   8. Scops asio, Gr. Less." (Kaup 1851). The Eastern Screech Owl and its New World congeners were formerly placed in the genus Scops (= Otus).   
Synon. Athene, Gymnasio, Pseudociccaba.

centralis
L. centralis, centrale  central, in the middle  < centrum  middle point, centre  < Gr. κεντρον kentron  sharp point, stationary point of a pair of compasses.  A good proportion of the names here refer to forms collected in "Central Africa," i.e. the eastern Congo and the Rift Valley lakes (e.g. subsp. Bradypterus baboecala, subsp. Chlorocichla flaviventris, subsp. Malimbus rubricollis, subsp. Sarothrura pulchra, subsp. Turdus pelios).  Some further examples follow.
• "Dieselbe steht in Bezug auf Grösse zwischen cardinalis und massaicus in der Mitte." (Neumann 1900) (subsp. Dendropicos fuscescens).  
• "Distribution. Endemic to Peru on east Andean slope from Río Huallaga through Pasco to Junín west of the Río Ene and north of the Río Mantaro  ...  The scientific name reflects the range of this species near the geographic center of Peru." (Hosner et al. in M. Isler et al. 2020) (Grallaria).
• "Intermediate in size between N. f. flavicollis (Vieill.) and N. f. melanoxantha (Lcht.)" (Hellmayr 1907) (subsp. Hemithraupis flavicollis).
• "These birds are intermediate between N. famosa and N. cupreonitens, and resemble birds labelled by Neumann in the Tring Museum with the MS. name Nectarinia famosa centralis" (van Someren 1916) (subsp. Nectarinia famosa).
• "RANGE. —Eastern part of the central Solomon Islands (Kulambangra, New Georgia, Vangunu, and Gatukai)." (Mayr 1932) (subsp. Pachycephala pectoralis).
• "zentralbrasilianischen Hochlandes (Matto-grosso.  S. Goyaz.  N.-São Paulo.  W.-Minas Geraës)" (Hellmayr 1920) (subsp. Ramphocelus carbo).
• "the Central American form is named CICCABA VIRGATA CENTRALIS, subsp. nov.  ...  Chivela, Oaxaca, Mexico." (Griscom 1929) (subsp. Strix virgata).
• "Tang- (Dang-) la Range, Central Tibet, Tang-la Pass" (Sushkin 1926) (subsp. Tetraogallus tibetanus).