Pacific pygmy owl

The Pacific pygmy owl or Peruvian pygmy owl (Glaucidium peruanum) is a dirunal species of owl in the family Strigidae.[2] It is found in Ecuador and Peru year round and its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland, and heavily degraded former forest.[3][4]

Pacific pygmy owl
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Strigiformes
Family: Strigidae
Genus: Glaucidium
Species:
G. peruanum
Binomial name
Glaucidium peruanum
König, 1991

Additionally, the Pacific Pygmy owl may overlap with the Andean Pygmy Owl (Glaucidium jardinii). The two can be distinguished from their call, and the Pacific Pygmy Owl is usually found alone or in pairs.[5] The Peruvian pygmy owl is also very similar to the Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl (G. brasilianum) but their ranges do not overlap, however, they are also distinguished by their vocalizations.  

Taxonomy

The Peruvian Pygmy Owl was first described by Claus König, a German ornithologist, in 1991.

Description

The Pacific Pygmy Owl is a small owl, ~17 inches, with multiple different colour morphs. These colour morphs being a reddish brown to dark bown, or gray colouration on its back, with reddish brown, dark brown, or gray vertical stripes on its chest. Moreover, all morphs have yellow eyes and they have no eye disks.[6][7]

Furthermore, there are white spots on the back of the wings, and these spots are different for each morph.[6] There is also a broken white collar around the neck and black spots on either side of the midline, creating the appearance of dark eyespots, as well as a white-ish supercilium.[8]

Additionally, the juveniles of this species look like te adults, and the colour morphs of the males and females look very similar.[8]

The differences between the females and the males is that the females tend to be a little larger and heavier than the males, females having a wing length of approximately 103mm and mass of 64.5g, while males have a wing length of ~98mm and weight of ~60.5g.[8]

Distribution and Habitat

The Pacific Pygmy Owl is distributed along Peru and Ecuador in South America and can be found along the entire Pacific slope of Peru.[4][8] Its preferred habitat includes tropical or subtropical shrublands (both dry and wet) as well as degraded forests.[4] They can also be found in forested areas, on road side wires, around hedges, in gardens, agricultural areas, and in town plazas.[8][9]

Additionally, the Pacific Pygmy owl can be found in altitudes of 0 - 2400m.[5]

Behaviour and ecology

Vocalizations

<iframe src='https://www.xeno-canto.org/389775/embed?simple=1' scrolling='no' frameborder='0' width='340' height='115'></iframe>[10]

The above vocalization is issued under the Creative commons Licence[11]

The vocalization of the Peruvian Pygmy Owl is different than that of the Ferruginous Pygmy Owl because it is much faster and not replicatable when whistling, whereas the Ferruginous Pygmy Owl vocalization is.[8] Additionally, when excited, the vocalization can end with a sound similar to a warbler vocalization.[8]

Breeding

They prefer to nest in unused woodpecker holes, or empty cavities in trees.[7]

Food and Feeding

The Pacific Pygmy Owl typically perch in the canopy or the middle of the forest and feed on insects and smaller birds.[7]

Threats

According to the IUCN Red List, this species is listed as Least Concern and there are no reported threats.[3]

Status

Currently, there is no recorded number of individuals regarding the Pacific Pygmy Owl population, and therefore, a proper estimate on whether or not their population is declining or increasing cannot be made. However, it is presumed that their populations are stable. Thus, listing them as least cooncern.[3][7]

References
  1. BirdLife International (2012). "Glaucidium peruanum". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  2. Schulenberg, T. S. and H. Batcheller (2020). Peruvian Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium peruanum), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi-org.proxy3.library.mcgill.ca/10.2173/bow.pepowl1.01
  3. BirdLife International (2016-10-01). "IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Glaucidium peruanum". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
  4. "Glaucidium peruanum (Peruvian Pygmy-Owl) - Avibase". avibase.bsc-eoc.org. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
  5. Athanas, Nick; Greenfield, Paul J. (2016). Birds of Western Ecuador: A Photographic Guide. Princeton University Press. pp. 144–151. ISBN 9781400880706.
  6. "Peruvian Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium peruanum)". Peru Aves. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
  7. "Pacific Pygmy Owl (Glaucidium peruanum) – Planet of Birds". Retrieved 2020-10-08.
  8. Schulenberg, T. S. and H. Batcheller (2020). Peruvian Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium peruanum), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi-org.proxy3.library.mcgill.ca/10.2173/bow.pepowl1.01
  9. "Peruvian Pygmy-Owl - eBird". ebird.org. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
  10. Van de Loock, Dries (2016-12-10). "XC389775 · Pacific Pygmy Owl · Glaucidium peruanum". Retrieved 2020-10-07.
  11. "Creative Commons — Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International — CC BY-NC-SA 4.0". creativecommons.org. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
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