Northern Pygmy Owl
Encyclopedia
The Northern Pygmy Owl (Glaucidium gnoma), is a small owl
native to North and Central America.
with the Mountain Pygmy Owl. The American Ornithologists' Union
, the authority for the North American region, does not recognize this split, so the populations are still considered conspecific. Clear differences in the territorial calls by males are the basis for a proposed split, with birds in the high elevations of Arizona and Mexico giving a two-note call while their more northerly congeners give a repeated single-note call. Results from DNA sequence
comparisons of cytochrome-b have been weak and inconclusive despite being referenced repeatedly as a justification for taxonomic splitting. Some taxonomists split the Northern Pygmy Owl from the Mountain form, in which case the latter takes the nominate form, and the former takes the G. calfornicum specific name.
:
, the United States
, Mexico
, Guatemala
and Honduras
. Their habitat includes temperate, subtropical and tropical moist forest, savanna, and wetlands.
In Oregon and Washington they are known to nest and forage in the center of dense, continuous forests, near streams. An example of their habitat is Forest Park in Portland, Oregon
. Their breeding habitat includes open to semi-open woodlands of foothills and mountains in western North America
.
holes. The female lays 2–7 eggs, typically 4–6. Nest tree species may include Douglas Fir, Western Redcedar, Western Hemlock
and Red Alder
.Early in the breeding cycle males establish and defend a territory of perhaps 250 hectares (about 1 sq. mi.).
During the breeding cycle the female incubates the eggs, broods the young and guards the nest. The male hunts, making food deliveries approximately every 2 hours. The male must feed his mate, the young (typically 5) and himself. The male hunts from dawn to dusk as the young near fledging, and during the first weeks after they leave the nest.
The young leave the nest (fledge) by making an initial flight that may be a short hop to a nearby branch, or an explosive burst into an adjacent tree where they land by grasping whatever branch is first contacted, sometimes clinging upside-down. Owls at this stage are sometimes called "branchers" for their clinging, dangling and climbing behaviors. The second day after fledging, the young gradually climb and fly upward into the forest canopy, where they spend their first few weeks, at times perched "shoulder-to-shoulder" with their siblings, begging for food.
Despite many statements in popular literature, no reliable information exists on the seasonal movements of this species. It is not known whether these pygmy-owls maintain the same territory or same mate year to year, though these questions are being investigated. Dispersal of young and influences on their mortality are also poorly known, though Barred Owl
s and Spotted Owl
s are known to prey on pygmy owls.
s. These owls are diurnal
, and also active at dawn and dusk.
Typical owl
True owl or Typical owl are one of the two generally accepted families of Owls, the other being the barn owls . The Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy unites the Caprimulgiformes with the owl order; here, the typical owls are a subfamily Strigidae...
native to North and Central America.
Taxonomy
Some experts consider this bird a superspeciesSuperspecies
A superspecies is a group of at least two more or less distinctive species with approximately parapatric distributions. Not all species complexes, whether cryptices or ring species are superspecies, and vice versa, but many are...
with the Mountain Pygmy Owl. The American Ornithologists' Union
American Ornithologists' Union
The American Ornithologists' Union is an ornithological organization in the USA. Unlike the National Audubon Society, its members are primarily professional ornithologists rather than amateur birders...
, the authority for the North American region, does not recognize this split, so the populations are still considered conspecific. Clear differences in the territorial calls by males are the basis for a proposed split, with birds in the high elevations of Arizona and Mexico giving a two-note call while their more northerly congeners give a repeated single-note call. Results from DNA sequence
DNA sequence
The sequence or primary structure of a nucleic acid is the composition of atoms that make up the nucleic acid and the chemical bonds that bond those atoms. Because nucleic acids, such as DNA and RNA, are unbranched polymers, this specification is equivalent to specifying the sequence of...
comparisons of cytochrome-b have been weak and inconclusive despite being referenced repeatedly as a justification for taxonomic splitting. Some taxonomists split the Northern Pygmy Owl from the Mountain form, in which case the latter takes the nominate form, and the former takes the G. calfornicum specific name.
Subspecies
There are seven recognized subspeciesSubspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
:
- G. g. californicum (PL SclaterPhilip SclaterPhilip Lutley Sclater was an English lawyer and zoologist. In zoology, he was an expert ornithologist, and identified the main zoogeographic regions of the world...
, 1857) - Pacific Pygmy Owl - central British ColumbiaBritish ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
to southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico - G. g. cobanense (SharpeRichard Bowdler SharpeRichard Bowdler Sharpe was an English zoologist.-Biography:Sharpe was born in London and studied at Brighton College, The King's School, Peterborough and Loughborough Grammar School. At the age of sixteen he went to work for Smith & Sons in London...
, 1875) - Guatemalan Pygmy Owl - mountains of southern Mexico to Guatemala and Honduras - G. g. gnoma (Wagler, 1832) - Mountain Pygmy Owl - southeast ArizonaArizonaArizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
to highlands of central MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of... - G. g. grinnelli (Ridgway, 1914) - Coastal Pygmy Owl - coniferous forests of southeastern AlaskaAlaskaAlaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
to northern CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area... - G. g. hoskinsii (BrewsterWilliam Brewster (ornithologist)William Brewster was an American ornithologist. He was the curator of birds at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University from 1885 until his death. He was the co-founder, with Elliott Coues and Joel Asaph Allen, of the American Ornithologists' Union in 1883...
, 1888) - Cape Pygmy Owl - mountains of southern Baja CaliforniaBaja CaliforniaBaja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North... - G. g. pinicola (NelsonEdward William NelsonEdward William Nelson was an American naturalist and ethnologist. He was born in Manchester, New Hampshire. In 1871 together with his family, he became homeless due to the Chicago Fire....
, 1910) - Rocky Mountain Pygmy Owl - Rocky MountainsRocky MountainsThe Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
in west central United States - G. g. swarthi (GrinnellJoseph GrinnellJoseph Grinnell was a field biologist and zoologist. He made extensive studies of the fauna of California, and is credited with introducing a method of recording precise field observations known as the Grinnell System...
, 1913) - Vancouver Pygmy Owl - Vancouver IslandVancouver IslandVancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
in British ColumbiaBritish ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
Description
Adults are 15–17 cm in overall length (nearly 6 inches) and are gray, brownish-gray or rufous in colour. This owl has a round white spotted head, weakly defined facial disc, and dark upper breast, wings and tail, the latter quite long compared to other owls. The eyes are yellow and the bill is yellowish-green. The bird has two black nape spots outlined in white on the back of its head, which look like eyes. The mid to lower breast is white with darker vertical streaking. Legs are feathered down to the four well-armed toes on each foot.Distribution and habitat
The Northern Pigmy Owl is native to CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
and Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
. Their habitat includes temperate, subtropical and tropical moist forest, savanna, and wetlands.
In Oregon and Washington they are known to nest and forage in the center of dense, continuous forests, near streams. An example of their habitat is Forest Park in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. Their breeding habitat includes open to semi-open woodlands of foothills and mountains in western North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
Behaviour
Males will regularly perch at the top of the tallest available conifer trees to issue their territorial call, making them somewhat ventriloquistic in sloped landscapes, and causing distress and confusion among observers on the ground hoping to get a glimpse. They are incredibly hard to spot because of their size and color.Breeding
They usually nest in a tree cavity and will often use old woodpeckerWoodpecker
Woodpeckers are near passerine birds of the order Piciformes. They are one subfamily in the family Picidae, which also includes the piculets and wrynecks. They are found worldwide and include about 180 species....
holes. The female lays 2–7 eggs, typically 4–6. Nest tree species may include Douglas Fir, Western Redcedar, Western Hemlock
Western Hemlock
Tsuga heterophylla. the Western Hemlock, is a species of hemlock native to the west coast of North America, with its northwestern limit on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, and its southeastern limit in northern Sonoma County, California.-Habitat:...
and Red Alder
Red Alder
Alnus rubra, the Red alder, is a deciduous broadleaf tree native to western North America.-Description:It is the largest species of alder in North America and one of the largest in the world, reaching heights of 20–35 m. The official tallest red alder stands 32 meters tall in Clatsop County, Oregon...
.Early in the breeding cycle males establish and defend a territory of perhaps 250 hectares (about 1 sq. mi.).
During the breeding cycle the female incubates the eggs, broods the young and guards the nest. The male hunts, making food deliveries approximately every 2 hours. The male must feed his mate, the young (typically 5) and himself. The male hunts from dawn to dusk as the young near fledging, and during the first weeks after they leave the nest.
The young leave the nest (fledge) by making an initial flight that may be a short hop to a nearby branch, or an explosive burst into an adjacent tree where they land by grasping whatever branch is first contacted, sometimes clinging upside-down. Owls at this stage are sometimes called "branchers" for their clinging, dangling and climbing behaviors. The second day after fledging, the young gradually climb and fly upward into the forest canopy, where they spend their first few weeks, at times perched "shoulder-to-shoulder" with their siblings, begging for food.
Despite many statements in popular literature, no reliable information exists on the seasonal movements of this species. It is not known whether these pygmy-owls maintain the same territory or same mate year to year, though these questions are being investigated. Dispersal of young and influences on their mortality are also poorly known, though Barred Owl
Barred Owl
The Barred Owl is a large typical owl. It goes by many other names, including eight hooter, rain owl, wood owl, and striped owl, but is probably best known as the hoot owl.-Description:...
s and Spotted Owl
Spotted Owl
The Spotted Owl, Strix occidentalis, is a species of true owl. It is a resident species of forests in western North America, where it nests in tree holes, old bird of prey nests, or rock crevices. Nests can be between 13 and 66 yards high and usually contain two eggs...
s are known to prey on pygmy owls.
Feeding
Pygmy owls are purportedly "sit-and-wait" predators, though they in fact hunt somewhat actively, moving from perch to perch with short flights, and pursuing prey at all levels of forest structure. They swoop down on prey; they may also catch insects in flight. They eat small mammals, birds and large insects, and may take a variety of other vertebrates and invertebrates. Mountain Pygmy Owls occasionally take prey species the same size or larger than themselves (e.g. California Quail); however, small to medium-sized birds and small mammals are the norm. They've been observed eating Wilson's WarblerWilson's Warbler
The Wilson's Warbler, Wilsonia pusilla, is a small New World warbler. It is primarily greenish above and yellow below, with rounded wings and a long, slim tail. The male has a black crown patch which is greatly reduced or missing entirely in the female...
s. These owls are diurnal
Diurnal animal
Diurnality is a plant or animal behavior characterized by activity during the day and sleeping at night.-In animals:Animals that are not diurnal might be nocturnal or crepuscular . Many animal species are diurnal, including many mammals, insects, reptiles and birds...
, and also active at dawn and dusk.