Andean Pygmy Owl

Facts about Andean Pygmy Owl. Andean Pygmy Owl is a variety of owl that belongs to the genus Glaucidium of the Strigidae family. "Scientific name of the Andean Pygmy Owl is Glaucidium jardinii". Andean Pygmy Owl is largely found in Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, and Peru. The natural home of the Andean Pygmy Owl breed is subtropical or tropical damp montane forests. Andean Pygmy Owls are also found from the hilly regions of the northern parts of Colombia to the western parts of Ecuador, Venezuela, and Peru.

Features of Andean Pygmy Owl

Andean Pygmy Owl is a medium-sized bird with the body length that ranges from 7 1/4 inches to 7 5/8 inches (18 cm to 19 cm). The most significant field mark of the Andean Pygmy Owl breed is its yellow color Iris. The Andean Pygmy Owl has a brown color body, and it has a head with small whitish mark on the top, with a white color eyebrow. The back of the owl is spotted with buff and it has white color wings. Most of the underparts of the Andean Pygmy Owl are white in color, with a brown hint bar across its chest. It has barred breast and stomach sides or they are marked in brown color. The tail of the Andean Pygmy Owl appears dark in color with four thin white bars.

Andean Pygmy Owls prefer to live in Semi-open forest, rain forest with thick canopy and supplementary open undergrowth, riparian forest, and thorn scrub. The Andean Pygmy Owl construct their nest in a tree hole, or in the old Woodpecker hole.

This Andean Pygmy Owl is relatively a common owl and it is not in danger of extermination across much of its variety. Restricted populations of the Andean Pygmy Owl are endangered in the United States, but this owl breed was delisted during 2006, owing to political demands from developers.

Diet of Andean Pygmy Owl

This Andean Pygmy Owl breed looks for food day or night, but even though during daytime smaller birds habitually mob it. This owl bird is an opportunistic killer typically feeding on a variety of invertebrates, like crickets, grasshoppers, caterpillars, other big insects and scorpions. It also feeds on small creatures, frogs and lizards. The Andean Pygmy Owl mostly feeds on birds and sometimes large insects, as well. However, the favorite food of these owls is birds.

Breeding of Andean Pygmy Owl

The Andean Pygmy Owl nests in tree outlets or finds holes in old termite nests. They construct their nest at a height of 10 feet to 40 feet (3 meters to 12 meters) from the ground. Their nesting period is seasonal, and they usually start building their nests from March to July. The female owl is capable of laying two to five white color eggs. It protects the eggs until they hatch, which usually takes about 30 days. The male Andean Pygmy Owl will fetch food for the female owl while she is protecting the eggs in the nest. After the young owls hatch, both male and female owls feed the chicks. According to the availability of food, the smaller hatchlings or later hatching may expire, owing to brood rivalry over food. After about 28 days of hatching, the juvenile birds fledge, upon which the adults care for the juvenile birds for another period of three weeks.

Much of the information is not available about the lifespan of the Andean Pygmy Owl.