Central American Pygmy Owl

Facts about Central American Pygmy Owl. The Central American Pygmy Owl is a small owl that is native to much of Central America. The formal species name for the Central American Pygmy Owl is Glaucidium griseiceps. The Central American Pygmy Owl is a member of the Strigidae family and strigiformes order. There are two identified subspecies: Glaucidium griseiceps occultum and Glaucidium griseiceps rarum.
The Central American Pygmy Owl species used to be considered a subspecies of the Least Pygmy-Owl, scientific name Glaucidium minutissimum. That species was officially identified in 1875 by Richard Bowdler Sharpe.

Physical Description of Central American Pygmy Owl

The Central American Pygmy Owl is five to six inches or fourteen to sixteen centimeters. Each wing is around three inches long, while the tail is one to two inches long. Females are heavier than the males.
Central American Pygmy Owls have a small rounded head and no ear tufts. Central American Pygmy Owls have a mixture of brown and grey feathers around the head and neck. The crown tends to have white spots. The Central American Pygmy Owl has a white band of feathers separating the grey-brown head from the dark brown back feathers, while the band turns brown separating the face from the white patch on the chest. The feathers on the back are dark brown, though the wing feathers sport white spots. The chest is white. Central American Pygmy Owls have rufous brown stripes on the tail. Central American Pygmy Owls usually have four or five whitish bars on the tale but two of them are concealed by the coverts around the upper tail. The claws have dark tips. Its feet are feathered to the base of the toes.
The Central American Pygmy Owl has dark yellow eyes and a whitish bill with a hint of green. The Central American Pygmy Owl has a light grey/brown facial disk with white flecks. The Central American Pygmy Owl's eyebrows are off-white. The Central American Pygmy Owl's nape has a large occipital face, also called false eye spots.

Behavior of Central American Pygmy Owl

The Central American Pygmy Owl's song is a series of short hoots containing two to three notes per second. The song lasts up to eighteen notes for a total of up to six seconds. The Central American Pygmy Owl can emit a quavering trill. The Central American Pygmy Owl is partially diurnal. The Central American Pygmy Owl eats invertebrates like beetles and moths as well as small vertebrates like lizards.
This bird does not migrate. It nests in abandoned woodpecker holes. The Central American Pygmy Owl may nest in old termite nests like its better known relatives, but this species’ habits are not well known.

Habitat of Central American Pygmy Owl

The Central American Pygmy Owl lives in the humid forests and second growth forests. The similar but larger Ferruginous Pygmy Owl prefers more open areas. This owl will live on mature plantations, abandoned plantations and busy landscapes.

Range of Central American Pygmy Owl

The Central American Pygmy Owl ranges from Mexico in the north to Panama in the south. The Central American Pygmy Owl only lives in the lowlands on the Caribbean slope in Mexico and Costa Rica but lives on both the Pacific and Caribbean slopes in Panama.
The Central American Pygmy Owl species is of least concern by the IUCN.

Trivia of Central American Pygmy Owl

The Central American Pygmy Owl can be considered recently discovered because it was not identified as a separate species until the past few years.
The Central American Pygmy Owl is part of a species complex or group of related species that includes the Brazilian Pygmy-Owl in Brazil and Colima Pygmy Owl in Mexico.