Crested Owl

How to find it

Plan around the day roost rather than the voice. Pairs often roost low inside the forest, sometimes in fairly open spots, and they are easier to find then. Roosts are usually 3 to 10 m up in dense foliage or along forested streams.

Guides in the Sarapiquí area walk forest trails for roosting pairs, and one tour afternoon there includes a hike through dense rainforest where the trail can be very muddy. La Selva Biological Station offers good night access in the Caribbean lowlands. Some birders try at dusk or on optional evening outings, while other tours often see the owls in daylight on their roosts. Expect patience: one birder never relocated an owl in the same spot after the first sighting.

How to recognise it

Look first for the very long white ear tufts. A white stripe runs from the tip of each tuft down to the base of the bill, and the darker face makes that stripe stand out.

The eyes are pale yellow. With the tufts, they give the owl a wide-eyed look.

Two colour forms occur:

Dark form: dark brown back and lighter brown underparts.

Pale form: light brown back and whitish underparts.

Pairs sometimes include one bird of each form. A roosting bird often holds the long white brows flat, then raises them when alert.

What it sounds like

Recording: Dan MacNeal, CC BY 4.0, source, read 4 Nov 2026.

Behaviour and diet

The Crested Owl is nocturnal. By day it often roosts in pairs or alone, and a pair usually sleeps together. A roosting bird can perch motionless on a branch for hours.

Little is known about its feeding. It apparently eats mostly insects such as beetles, large cockroaches and caterpillars.

It is not without risk. In Corcovado National Park an Ornate Hawk-Eagle was documented killing a Crested Owl, described by the authors as the first published case involving this owl.

Where it lives

The Crested Owl lives on both the Caribbean and Pacific slopes, from sea level up to about 1,500 m. It is described as uncommon but widespread, and as rare to fairly common locally in lowlands and foothills. Around the Central Valley it reaches 1,500 m or more.

It prefers mature forest and advanced second growth with dense vegetation where it can spend the day. Cacao plantations and second growth with thickets also serve as day roosts.

The dark form is found mainly in the humid parts of the country, and the pale form mainly in the drier areas.

When to see it

Breeding is thought to run from the dry season into the start of the rainy season, based on gonad data. Young may stay with their parents until at least late September.

Similar birds

The Crested Owl is very distinctive and unlikely to be mistaken for any other owl. Its croak, however, can be mistaken for the call of the Bare-throated Tiger-Heron. Spectacled Owl is often looked for in the same places, and on a March 2025 tour roosting Crested and Spectacled Owls were found within about 20 yards of each other.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

Costa Ricans use the Spanish name Búho Penachudo. Other Spanish names listed for the species are Búho Corniblanco and Búho Cuerno Blanco, and a Costa Rican owl guide gives the nickname "Crestada".

Status and conservation

Resident (R) on the AOCR list, uncommon but widespread on both slopes, and rated Least Concern by the IUCN.

Photography tips

Day roosts give the best chance. Pairs sit low inside the forest, sometimes in fairly open spots. Watch the brows: they are held flat when the bird is relaxed and raised when it is alert. A disturbed owl turns slim and raises its ear tufts, so keep your distance and move slowly.