[3][4][5] BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) retains vermiculatus as the separate vermiculated screech owl.

The various subspecies are similar, differing mainly in size (which increases north to south) and the intensity of the colors.

[7] The six subspecies of Middle American screech owl recognized by the IOC are found thus:[3] The Yucatán and Cozumel populations of guatemalae are treated as M. g. thompsoni by the AOS/NACC and Clements.

[7] The Middle American screech owl is nocturnal; it hunts mostly by swooping on prey from a perch and also by catching it in flight.

The Middle American screech owl's principal territorial song is "a rapid, quavering trill...increasing in pitch and volume, [and] ending abruptly".

"[7] The IUCN follows HBW taxonomy and so has separately assessed the Middle American and vermiculated screech owls.

[7] The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) lists the Middle American screech owl in Appendix II.