The Owl Name Game

["Kristin Purdy" <kristinpurdy at comcast dot net>]

I apologize in advance for an exceptionally geeky question, but a 
certain mystery has been keeping me up nights.  Perhaps someone out 
there already has the answer:    

Does anyone know why the taxonomic name of the three screech-owl species 
has been changed from Otus to Megascops?!?!?

The taxonomic names in the titles of the Western Screech-, Whiskered 
Screech-, and Eastern Screech-owls have been changed in the Birds of 
North America Online; however, the narrative accounts that follow have 
not yet been updated.  The disparity leads me to believe that the name 
change is a relatively recent development. 

Thanks in advance for your replies.  I'm sure that once I learn the 
answer, I'll be able to sleep again. 

Kris

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