The northern pygmy owl (Glaucidium californicum ) is a small owl native to western North America.
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DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
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CrepuscularCrepuscular animals are those that are active primarily during twilight (that is, the periods of dawn and dusk). This is distinguished from diurnal...
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CarnivoreA carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of a...
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ArborealArboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some anima...
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Ambush predatorAmbush predators are carnivorous animals that capture or trap prey by stealth, luring, or by (typically instinctive) strategies utilizing an elemen...
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Pursuit predatorPursuit predation is a form of predation in which predators actively give chase to their prey, either solitarily or as a group. Pursuit predators r...
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AltricialAltricial animals are those species whose newly hatched or born young are relatively immobile. They lack hair or down, are not able to obtain food ...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
A territory is a sociographical area that which an animal consistently defends against the conspecific competition (or, occasionally, against anima...
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Serial monogamySerial monogamy is a mating system in which a pair bonds only for one breeding season.
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SolitaryNo
Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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Partial MigrantPartial migration is when within a migratory species or even within a single population, some individuals migrate while others do not.
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starts withThe Northern pygmy owl is a small but ferocious hunter of songbirds that is native to North America. The adult bird is gray, brownish-gray or rufous in color. This owl has a round white spotted head, weakly defined facial disc, and dark upper breast, wings and tail. 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.
Northern pygmy owls are found in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Their habitat includes temperate, subtropical and tropical moist forest, savanna, and wetlands. These birds prefer open coniferous and mixed forests along the edges of meadows, valleys, streams, fields, and roadsides.
Northern pygmy owls are diurnal, and also active at dawn and dusk. They are solitary and secretive birds; males regularly perch at the top of the tallest available conifer trees to issue their territorial call, 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. Northern 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 and may also catch insects in flight. The main call of Northern pygmy owls is a whistled hoot that sounds as "too-too-too-too-too-too-too" and is used to claim the territory. When alarmed, these owls usually make a high-pitched trill.
Northern pygmy owls are carnivores and feed on a wide range of small prey. They hunt small mammals, birds, and large insects, and may take a variety of other vertebrates and invertebrates.
Northern pygmy owls are serially monogamous; pairs stay together for one breeding season that occurs between April and June. Early in the breeding cycle males establish and defend a territory. These birds usually nest in a tree cavity and will often use old woodpecker holes. The female lays 2 to 7 eggs, typically 4 to 6, and incubates them about 28 days. 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, 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 owlets are born helpless and blind but grow quickly and fledge at about 30 days of age. They 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 owlets 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. Around 20 to 30 days after fledging the young become completely independent and reach reproductive maturity by the first year of age.
Northern pygmy owls are not threatened or endangered at present; however, they suffer from habitat loss that is caused mainly by logging and burning of forests.
According to the All About Birds resource, the total breeding population size of the Northern pygmy owl is 80,000 individuals. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today are increasing.
