Taxonomy
The nominate form, M. n. nudipes, was originally described in 1800 by French ornithologist François Marie Daudin in Traite elementaire et complet d'Ornithologie, ou Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux as Otus nudipes. The species name, nudipes, makes reference to its bare legs and toes which are unusual among Megascops species. The recognized subspecies, M. n. newtoni, was described in 1860 by Lawrence in the Annals of the Lyceum of Natural History and is considered extinct. Furthermore, the validity of this subspecies has been questioned.
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