This owl occurs in the mountains of southern Bolivia and northwestern Argentina. It has brown, gray, and red color morphs; the brown morph is described with pale eyebrows and bold cross-hatched belly markings.
The species is described in brown, gray, and red morphs. The brown-morph account notes pale eyebrows, yellow eyes, a pale bill, and bold cross-hatched belly stripes.
A study in northwestern Argentina reports montane Yungas habitat and one nest in a hollow in a laurel trunk at Chasquivil.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.