Northern Pygmy-Owl

Glaucidium gnomaOrder: STRIGIFORMES Family: True Owls (Strigidae)

Codes: Common Name: NOPO Scientific Name: GLAGNO ITIS Taxonomic No.: 177902

Head

Topo Map: Owl-like Head

Bill Shape: Hooked
Eye Color: Clouded lemon yellow in juveniles; Deep yellow in adults.
Head Pattern: Eyeline, Spotted, Special (unique patterns or features)
Crown Color: Rust-brown to gray-brown with fine white spotting.
Forehead Color: Rust-brown or gray-brown with fine white spotting and white eyebrows.
Nape Color: Two black spots bordered in white.
Throat Color: White
Cere color: Gray

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Body

Topo Map: Owl-like Body

Length Range: 18-19 cm (7-7.5 in)
Weight: 62 g (2.2 oz)
Size: Size 2. Small (5 - 9 in)
Color: White, Brown, Black
Underparts: White with dark streaking.
Upperparts: Rust-brown to gray-brown and may have white spotting.
Back Pattern: Solid
Belly Pattern: Striped or streaked
Breast Pattern: Spotted or speckled

Flight

Topo Map: Owl-like Flight

Flight Pattern: Undulating flight., Bursts of quick wingbeats.
Wingspan Range: 30 cm (12 in)
Wing Shape: Pointed-Wings
Tail Shape: Notched Tail
Tail Pattern: Brown overall with faint spotting.
Upper Tail: Rust-brown to gray-brown.
Under Tail: White
Leg Color: Feathered in buff-white.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Northern Pygmy-Owl

Northern Pygmy-Owl: Small owl, upperparts and sides range from brown to white-spotted gray-brown or gray. White underparts have brown stripes. Head is brown or gray with white spots; no ear tufts. Yellow eyes have white eyebrows. White-bordered black spots on back of head resemble a pair of eyes.

● Song: "too-too too"

● Foraging & Feeding: Northern Pygmy-Owl: Prey consists of birds, such as swallows, jays, and chickadees, and mammals, such as shrews, moles, and chipmunks; a predominantly sit-and-wait predator that hunts by day.

● Breeding & nesting: Northern Pygmy-Owl: Two to seven white eggs are laid in a nest built in an old woodpecker hole, usually in a conifer. Eggs are incubated for 29 days by the female; male brings her food while on the nest.

● Similar species: Northern Pygmy-Owl: Ferruginous Owl has a rufous tail with dark bars and brown streaks on underparts. Elf Owl is smaller, has a shorter tail, lacks eyespots on nape, and has faint streaks on underparts.

Flight Pattern

Undulating flight., Bursts of quick wingbeats.

● Range & Habitat: Northern Pygmy-Owl: Resident on the Pacific coast from southern Alaska to Central America; also found in the Rocky Mountains. Preferred habitats include open coniferous and mixed forests, open fields, wetlands, and logged areas.

^BreedingMonogamous

^PopulationFairly common to uncommon

^MigrationNonmigratory

^Weight2.2 Ounces

Owl-like Head

Owl-like Body

Owl-like Flight

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America