This owl has been classified as vulnerable on the List of Threatened Fauna Species in some Brazilian states where it occurs. Entirely nocturnal, this midsized black and white neotropical bird is a resident species, and therefore never migrates out of its native South America. Its natural habitats are varied subtropical or tropical forests ranging from lowlands to areas of medium altitude. his is a medium-sized owl, barred black and white all over with darker flight feathers, a blackish facemask, and a yellow-orange bill and feet. The Black-banded Owl can be detected most easily by listening for its call, a rising series of hoots. Primarily insects, especially moths, beetles, locusts and mantids; small mammals and other small vertebrates are reported as food habits. Because it is essentially a forest owl, species is susceptible to habitat destruction by the transformation of rainforest into monocultures and ranchland.
