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Central American Pygmy Owl | Glaucidium griseiceps
Grijskopdwerguil | Tecolote mesoamericano | Caburé-da-américa-central
The Central American Pygmy Owl is a small pygmy owl of humid lowland forest, ranging from Central America into the Chocó. In the guide area it lives only in western Colombia and north-western Ecuador. It usually stays high in the canopy and is mostly detected by its song.
Voice
A series of usually four to ten hollow, evenly spaced notes, poop-poop-poop, at a measured pace. It sings mainly at dusk, but also by day.
Recording: Iván Lau — CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · xeno-canto
Identification
14–15 cm, with a round, grey head with fine pale dots, yellow eyes and white eyebrows. The back is plain warm brown, without spots. On the nape 'false eyes'. The tail is dark, with two or three broken white bars. The underparts are white, with brown breast sides and rufous streaks on the flanks. The sexes are alike.
Confusion species
Ferruginous Pygmy Owl Glaucidium brasilianum is larger, with a streaked crown and a longer tail barred brown or rufous, and lives in more open country. Cloud-forest Pygmy Owl Glaucidium nubicola is larger and darker and lives higher on the western slope. Pacific Pygmy Owl Glaucidium peruanum has a brown, white-dotted crown and a longer tail and lives in drier forest in south-western Ecuador.
Habitat
Humid lowland forest and old secondary forest, in the canopy, the middle layers and at forest edges, from sea level to about 1200 m. It hunts large insects, small reptiles and small birds. It nests in tree cavities, often old woodpecker holes.
Where the bird is most at home, classified by the vegetation units of the Andes and the west coast.
Range and movements
In Colombia in the Chocó, along the Pacific coast and in the north-west. In Ecuador in the north-west, mainly in Esmeraldas. Absent from Peru, Bolivia and the Galápagos. Outside the guide area from southern Mexico to Panama.
- Resident
- dark = core range, pale = thinly spread
How and when to look
In the early morning and at dusk, listen in humid lowland forest in the Chocó and north-western Ecuador for the series of notes. Mobbing groups of small birds may reveal its position.
Conservation status
Least Concern. Deforestation in the Chocó and western Ecuador has left its habitat in the guide area highly fragmented.
Scientific name
Glaucidium griseiceps | Sharpe, 1875
Sharpe described the species in 1875 and placed it straight away in the genus where it still stands. The genus Glaucidium was introduced in 1826 by Boie. The genus name comes from Greek glaukidion, 'owlet', a diminutive of glaux, 'owl'; Friedrich Boie introduced it in 1826. The species name comes from Medieval Latin griseus, 'grey', and -ceps, '-headed', for the grey head. The specimen the first description was based on came from lowlands of Alta Verapaz, Guatemala.