Hello Photographers!

In Brazil, there are two Murucututus. They share forest, share song, and share the same common name. But they are different species—and the differences matter, especially when it comes to photography and conservation.

There is an owl in Brazil whose name is its own sound. Murucututu—repetitive, rhythmic, onomatopoeic. It's as if the forest were banging pots in the dark.

And there's a detail few people know: when we say "murucututu," we might be talking about two different species. The first is the Spectacled Owl (Pulsatrix perspicillata), with bright yellow eyes and those white "marks" around them that look like spectacles. The second is the Buffy-banded Owl (Pulsatrix koeniswaldiana), with dark brown eyes, a well-defined white "X" on its face, and which exists only in the Atlantic Forest.

Both live in the same biome in part of their range. In some regions they are s syntopic—that is, they share the same territory, sing on the same night, hunt in the same forest. And yet, they are almost never confused. Anyone who learns to observe the eyes will find the rest comes easily.

This article is about how to tell them apart, why it's worth knowing both, and what each one teaches about the forest they inhabit.

Who's who—the separation starts in the eyes

The most practical and immediate difference is in the eyes:

• Spectacled Owl—yellow eyes, unique in the genus Pulsatrix for this trait. Dark facial disc with well-marked white "spectacles."

• Buffy-banded Owl—dark brown eyes. Brown facial disc with white eyebrows. The white feathers of the lores and the malar stripe join to form a white "X" on the face—one of the most elegant markings among Brazilian owls.

Those who photograph both notice that the gaze tells a different story. The one with yellow eyes seems alert, theatrical. The one with dark eyes seems more discreet, attentive to what happens beneath the foliage. Light hits each one differently. The portrait demands different approaches.

If in doubt, start with the eyes. Then move on to the facial disc, the eyebrow, the belly. The key is in the details.

The chick that looks like a snowman with a Zorro mask

Here's a detail that always impresses first-time viewers: the juvenile Spectacled Owl is entirely white with a chocolate brown facial disc. In the field, it looks like a snowman wearing a Zorro mask. It's one of the most distinct juvenile plumages among neotropical owls—easy to identify, impossible to confuse.

The juvenile Buffy-banded Owl is also white with a dark facial disc, but the pattern is different: more discreet, more "leaning" towards beige on the body.

Chicks like these don't appear every night. You need to know mature tree cavities, have patience to wait for the breeding season, and respect distance. But whoever manages to capture this phase brings home one of the most striking images of Brazilian fauna.

What does each Murucututu teach?

The first thing both species teach is patience. The second is that listening is as important as seeing. The third is that a well-preserved forest produces sound—and sound, over time, becomes an image.

The Spectacled Owl also teaches about plasticity. It's everywhere—from Mexico to Argentina—because it has learned to use altered habitats without losing its dependence on cavities. It's proof that not every human adaptation of the landscape needs to be a tragedy.

The Buffy-banded Owl teaches about endemism and what we lose when we lose Atlantic Forest. If it disappears, so does a unique lineage of owls that exists nowhere else in the world.

If you've ever heard or photographed a murucututu, share your experience here. I love knowing which forest you were in, whether it was the spectacled or the buffy-banded, and how long it took to find it. Every field story helps build the map of what's still out there.

Happy shooting and see you in the next edition!