Its specific epithet honors Roger Tory Peterson, "the father of modern field guides".

Adults have has a warm brown facial disc with a blackish border and the rest of the face is buffy.

The underparts are a rich cinnamon buff with some warm brown wavy marks on the throat and chest.

[5] According to the International Ornithological Committee (IOC) and the Clements taxonomy, the cinnamon screech owl is only known to occur on the eastern slope of the Andes from southern Ecuador into northern Peru.

Almost nothing is known about its hunting practices or diet, though the latter includes large arthropods and probably small vertebrates.