Cloud Forest Pygmy Owl

Facts about Cloud Forest Pygmy Owl, The Cloud Forest Pygmy Owl is one of the species of owl that comes from the genus Glaucidium of the Strigidae family. "Scientific name of the Cloud Forest Pygmy Owl is Glaucidium nubicola". The Cloud Forest Pygmy Owl can be largely seen in the northern parts of Ecuador and on the slopes of central and southern parts of Colombia. Nowadays, the Cloud Forest Pygmy Owl breed has become rare due to extinction. There are only about 2,500 to 10,000 Cloud Forest Pygmy Owls left. The Cloud Forest Pygmy Owls prefer to live in tropical or subtropical damp montane forests. The Cloud Forest Pygmy Owl breed is considered endangered, owing to habitat loss. Another reason for the vulnerability of the Cloud Forest Pygmy Owl breed is that it is supposed to be undergoing a fast population decline because of continuing degradation.

History of Cloud Forest Pygmy Owl

The Cloud-Forest Pygmy-Owl is so badly recognized that it was not even acknowledged as separate species from other pygmy owls until it was considered as a latest species during 1999. The Cloud Forest Pygmy Owl breed is restricted to medium altitudes on the western slopes of the Andes of Ecuador and Colombia, and it inhabits a band that is more than the elevations at which other pigmy owls reside. The cry of the Cloud Forest Pygmy Owl is a long sequence of paired, small whistles, similar to that of a the Northern Pygmy Owl and the Costa Rican Pygmy Owl. Together with other varieties of pygmy-owls, this owl breed is partly diurnal.

Features of Cloud Forest Pygmy Owl

The Cloud Forest Pygmy Owl is a small, distinctive, Neotropical bird, with the body length of 6.4 inches (16 cm). The Cloud Forest Pygmy Owl has a dark brown body color, but some other owls in its genus will have a more rustic-brown color body. The Cloud Forest Pygmy Owl has darker scapulars, back, rump and upper wing-coverts, spotted with dark rustic-brown and white. The primaries and secondaries of the bird contain white color spots, forming an indistinct band. The tail of the Cloud Forest Pygmy Owl is black in color, with five unfinished white bands. The chin of the bird is white in color, with rustic-brown colored sides of the throat and brown color on the sides of the upper chest.

The breast of the Cloud Forest Pygmy Owl contains unobtrusive white spots and more distinct lines on its lower underparts. The Cloud Forest Pygmy Owl has a greenish-yellow color bill and yellow irises. The legs of the bird are yellow in color and its tail is longer than other analogous birds in its genus. The flanks and the sides of the chest of the bird have wider pale spots or barring on the back.

The Cloud Forest Pygmy Owl has a unique call. The Cloud Forest Pygmy Owl makes toots or hollow whistles similar to that of other owl breeds in its family. The notes are delivered with stable duration, in pairs with typical internote and intranote pauses.

Diet of Cloud Forest Pygmy Owl

The Cloud Forest Pygmy Owl mostly feeds on invertebrates, particularly insects and small vertebrates, such as birds and lizards.

Breeding of Cloud Forest Pygmy Owl

The breeding season of the Cloud Forest Pygmy Owl probably takes place between February and June. The Cloud Forest Pygmy Owl breed is relatively tolerant of some home modification. Though the Cloud Forest Pygmy Owl breed is largely found in secondary woodland and in forest borders, it is not considered to be tolerant of harsh home degradation.