The owls of Hispaniola and Puerto Rico

Abstract

Hispaniola is the second largest island in the Caribbean that includes the countries of Dominican Republic and Haiti and has five resident owl species inhabiting open landscapes, rainforests, human-modified areas, and cities. The five species are the barn owl (Tyto alba), the endemic ashy-faced owl (T. glaucops), burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia), stygian owl (Asio stygius), and short-eared owl (A. flammeus). The stygian owl is the most threatened and least known of the five species. Puerto Rico represents the smallest and easternmost of the Greater Antilles, and it has a total of three species of owls inhabiting forest, open landscapes, and human-modified areas. The status of the barn owl on the island is not well known as the first breeding pair was documented in 2015, the short-eared owl is mostly restricted to lowlands and low montane open areas, and the Puerto Rican screech owl (Megascops nudipes) is the most common and widespread owl on the island. The Virgin Island race of the Puerto Rican screech owl (M. nudipes newtoni) that formerly inhabited a forested area of the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico's satellite island of Vieques is apparently extinct. These owls are suffering from changing landscapes and loss of natural habitat, especially in Haiti where natural resources and forests are nearly gone. Natural habitat remaining on Hispaniola is mainly confined to protected areas and the majority lack enforcement and protection. On the other hand, in Puerto Rico, the abandonment of forested areas such as shade coffee plantations, mainly in the highlands, has resulted in forest regeneration benefitting the Puerto Rican screech owl, and the abandonment of sugar cane plantations in the lowlands has favored the local subspecies of short-eared owl and most likely the colonization by barn owls.