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Ferruginous Pygmy Owl | Glaucidium brasilianum
Braziliaanse dwerguil | Mochuelo caburé | Caburé
The Ferruginous Pygmy Owl is the most widespread pygmy owl of the lowlands east of the Andes. It is largely diurnal, hunts from an open perch and is regularly mobbed by small birds. With its long tail, which it often flicks sideways, and its streaked crown it differs from most other pygmy owls in the guide area.
Voice
A long series of evenly spaced, whistled notes, hoo-hoo-hoo, about two to three per second, sometimes for minutes. Also high, twittering calls.
Recording: Juan Freile — CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · xeno-canto
Identification
15–17 cm, with a round head without ear tufts, yellow eyes and white eyebrows. There is a greyish-brown and a rufous morph, with intermediates. The crown has fine pale streaks, the nape 'false eyes'. The back is brown with a few pale spots. The tail is fairly long, with dark and rufous or pale bars. The underparts are white, with broad brown or rufous streaks. The sexes are alike; females are slightly larger.
Confusion species
Amazonian Pygmy Owl Glaucidium hardyi is smaller and shorter-tailed, with a dotted crown, lives high in the canopy of closed forest and sings a much faster trill. Pacific Pygmy Owl Glaucidium peruanum, west of the Andes, has a crown with white dots instead of streaks and sings faster. Burrowing Owl Athene cunicularia is larger, long-legged and lives on the ground in open country.
Habitat
Forest edges, gallery forest, open woodland, savanna with trees, Chaco dry forest, river islands and yards with trees, from the lowlands to about 1500 m. It hunts by day and at dusk, taking insects, lizards, small birds and mice. It nests in tree cavities and 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 lowlands of the north and east and in the valleys between the Andean ranges. In Ecuador in the eastern lowlands. In Peru in the eastern lowlands. In Bolivia throughout the lowlands, from the Beni savannas to the Chaco. Absent from the Galápagos. Outside the guide area from the south-western United States to Argentina.
- Resident
- dark = core range, pale = thinly spread
How and when to look
Listen along forest edges and rivers for the long series of whistles; alarmed small birds often show where it is. It often perches in the open on a branch, even in the middle of the day.
Conservation status
Least Concern. The species tolerates human-altered landscapes well and is common in large parts of the lowlands.
Scientific name
Glaucidium brasilianum | (Gmelin, 1788)
Gmelin described the species in 1788 as Strix brasiliana; because it was later moved to another genus, the author and year stand in brackets. 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 is New Latin brasilianus, 'Brazilian', for Brazil. The specimen the first description was based on came from Ceará, Brazil.