Pygmy owl

Pygmy owls Temporal range: Late Pliocene to Recent
African barred owlet
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Clade:	Dinosauria
Class:	Aves
Order:	Strigiformes
Family:	Strigidae
Genus:	Glaucidium
Species
Some 26[1] -35, see text.

Guatemalan pygmy owl (left) and red-chested owlet (right); illustration by Keulemans, 1875

Pygmy owls are members of the genus Glaucidium. They belong to the typical owl family, Strigidae, one of the two generally accepted living families of owls. The genus consists of about 26 to 35 species distributed worldwide. The exact number of species is somewhat disputed.

These are mostly small owls, and some of the species are called "owlets". Most pygmy owl species are nocturnal and hunt mainly large insects and other small prey.

Glaucidium forms a paraphyletic group with Surnia.^[2][3]

Species

• Eurasian pygmy owl, Glaucidium passerinum
• Collared owlet, Glaucidium brodiei
• Pearl-spotted owlet, Glaucidium perlatum
• Northern pygmy owl, Glaucidium gnoma
  • Northern pygmy owl, Glaucidium (gnoma) californicum
  • Mountain pygmy owl, Glaucidium gnoma gnoma
  • Guatemalan pygmy owl, Glaucidium (gnoma) cobanense
  • Cape pygmy owl, Glaucidium (gnoma) hoskinsii
• Costa Rican pygmy owl, Glaucidium costaricanum
• Cloud-forest pygmy owl, Glaucidium nubicola
• Andean pygmy owl, Glaucidium jardinii
• Yungas pygmy owl, Glaucidium bolivianum
• Colima pygmy owl, Glaucidium palmarum
• Tamaulipas pygmy owl, Glaucidium sanchezi
• Central American pygmy owl, Glaucidium griseiceps
• Subtropical pygmy owl, Glaucidium parkeri
• Amazonian pygmy owl, Glaucidium hardyi
• Pernambuco pygmy owl, Glaucidium mooreorum
• East Brazilian pygmy owl, Glaucidium minutissimum
• Ferruginous pygmy owl, Glaucidium brasilianum
  • Ridgway's pygmy owl, Glaucidium (brasilianum) ridgwayi (species or subspecies)
  • Tucuman pygmy owl, Glaucidium (brasilianum) tucumanum (species or subspecies)
• Pacific pygmy owl, Glaucidium peruanum
• Austral pygmy owl, Glaucidium nana
• Cuban pygmy owl, Glaucidium siju
• Red-chested owlet, Glaucidium tephronotum
• Sjöstedt's barred owlet, Glaucidium sjostedti
• Asian barred owlet, Glaucidium cuculoides
• Javan owlet, Glaucidium castanopterum
• Jungle owlet, Glaucidium radiatum
• Chestnut-backed owlet, Glaucidium castanonotum
• African barred owlet, Glaucidium capense
  • Ngami owlet, Glaucidium (capense) ngamiense
  • Scheffler's owlet, Glaucidium (capense) scheffleri
• Albertine owlet, Glaucidium albertinum
• Chestnut owlet, Glaucidium castaneum
• †Glaucidium kurochkini

The supposed prehistoric species "Glaucidium" dickinsoni is now recognized as a burrowing owl, probably a paleosubspecies providentiae. Bones of an indeterminate Glaucidium have been recovered from Late Pliocene deposits in Poland (Mlíkovský 2002).

References

1. "Glaucidium". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2010-12-29.
2. Nieuwenhuyse Dv, Génot J-C, Johnson DH. 2008. The little owl : Conservation, ecology, and behavior of Athene noctua. Cambridge, UK; New York: Cambridge University Press.
3. Wink M, El-Sayed AA, Sauer-Gurth H, Gonzalez J. 2009. Molecular phylogeny of owls (Strigiformes) inferred from DNA sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b and the nuclear rag-1 gene. Ardea 97(4):581-591.

• Mlíkovský, Jirí (2002): Cenozoic Birds of the World, Part 1: Europe: 215. Ninox Press, Prague. ISBN 80-901105-3-8 PDF fulltext

External links

• Pygmy owl information
• Mountain Pygmy Owl
• Mountain Pygmy Owl "eyes in back of head"
• Ferruginous pygmy owl
• Colima pygmy owl
• Eurasian pygmy owl
• Big fight over tiny owl - CNN/AP article on pygmy owl's endangered species status in Arizona.
• Pygmy Owls Documentary produced by Oregon Field Guide