The Pernambuco pygmy owl (Glaucidium mooreorum ) is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. This species, first described in 2002, is endemic to Pernambuco state in Brazil.
The Pernambuco pygmy owl is about 13 cm (5.1 in) long and weighs about 51 g (1.8 oz). The adult's face is a mix of whitish and brownish streaks and the rest of the head is raw umber with small white dots. The upperparts are chestnut and the tail is blackish brown with lines of white spots making broken bars across it. The underparts are white, the sides of the chest brown, and the flanks streaked with brown. The juvenile plumage is unknown.
The Pernambuco pygmy owl is found only in a small area of Pernambuco state in northeastern Brazil. It has been observed in the canopy of humid forest near its edge at a maximum elevation of 150 m (490 ft) above sea level.
One Pernambuco pygmy owl was observed eating a large cicada. Nothing else is known about its diet, which is assumed to include other invertebrates, small mammals, and small reptiles.
The Pernambuco pygmy owl was found to be vocally active during the rainy season, April and May, but no other information about its breeding phenology is known.
The IUCN has assessed the Pernambuco pygmy owl as being Critically Endangered and Possibly Extinct. It was originally assessed without the Possibly Extinct qualifier, but 2018 study citing bird extinction patterns and the almost complete destruction of its habitat recommended uplisting the owl to Critically Endangered - Possibly Extinct status. It was uplisted the following year.
The species has not been seen since 2001 despite extensive targeted searches. If still extant, it is assumed to have a tiny and declining population within an extremely small range. Any remaining population is estimated at fewer than fifty adult birds.
