The spectacled owl, from Mexico, Central and South America, has striking black, white and yellow colored plumage. It has broken circles of white around its yellow glaring eyes. It has mostly black or dark brown wings with a black head and yellow chest. The chicks are born with a dense fluffy white layer of plumage which slowly changes to the adult coloration in a period of as long as two years.

The owl is a large one growing up to be as tall as 18 in (46 cm) but even so it likes to eat smaller prey. It may eat small mammals and insects like caterpillars and crabs but when they feel up to, they may go after larger prey like skunks, opossums, sloths or large birds.

The owl has not been very well studied because it likes the rainforests and woodlands deep in the interior of its regions. However, it is widely distributed and not uncommon in some places like Costa Rica, living at altitudes of up to 5,000 feet (1,500 m). Although nocturnal, they sometimes come out during the day and both males and females make a “pum-pum-pum…” or “pup-pup-pup…” territorial call. The loss of the rainforests in its home regions threatens the owl’s territory.