Northern Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium californicum)

Other Names (World)
Northern Pygmy-Owl, Californian Pygmy-owl, Northern Pygmy Owl

Family
Strigidae (Typical Owls)

Size
15 - 17 cm

First Described (Guide)
Wagler, 1832

Habitat
Open to semi-open woodlands of foothills and mountains.

Range (Guide)

Canada (B) (NB), Guatemala (B) (NB), Honduras (B) (NB), Mexico (B) (NB), USA (B) (NB).

Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.

Population
Estimated population is 100,000 (2010).

Status LC
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Habits
Diurnal. Also active at dawn and dusk.

Food
Small mammals, birds, large insects.

Voice
Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (201)...)

Northern Pygmy Owl (Glaucidium californicum) [XC519403]
by Lance A. M. Benner from The Bench, Manzanita Ridge, San Gabriel Mountains, Los Angeles County, California, United States (song)

Northern Pygmy Owl (Glaucidium californicum) [XC478209]
by Lance A. M. Benner from Cloud Burst Summit, San Gabriel Mountains, Los Angeles County, California, United States (call)

Nest
A cavity in a tree. Often in the old nest of a woodpecker.

Eggs (Guide)
2 - 7, usually 4 - 6. Incubation: by female.

Subspecies
Mountain Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium gnoma) and Northern Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium californicum) (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) have been lumped into Glaucidium gnoma following AOU (1998).

Sometimes considered to form superspecies with Eurasian Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium passerinum), Collared Owlet (Glaucidium brodiei), Pearl-spotted Owlet (Glaucidium perlatum) and Mountain Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium gnoma) (including recently separated Guatemalan Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium cobanense) and Sjostedt's Owlet (Glaucidium sjostedti)), but DNA evidence clearly shows that present species and Eurasian Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium passerinum) are not closely related.

Subspecies pinicola perhaps not valid.

Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Mountain Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium gnoma).

The following 4 subspecies are recognised:

grinnelli Ridgway, 1914 - South-eastern Alaska through coastal British Columbia south to coastal western USA (Washington, Oregon, California). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Mountain Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium gnoma).
swarthi Grinnell, 1913 - Vancouver I. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Mountain Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium gnoma).
californicum Sclater, PL, 1857 - British Columbia and Alberta to western USA (south to Nevada and California) and north-western Mexico (northern Sonora, north-western Chihuahua). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Mountain Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium gnoma).
pinicola Nelson, 1910 - Western USA (Idaho and Montana south to Arizona and New Mexico, east to Colorado). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Mountain Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium gnoma).

References
See References.

Files:

JPG files for Northern Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium californicum) - 10 files

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BirdLife International

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