The austral pygmy owl (''Glaucidium nana'') is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found in Argentina and Chile.

Taxonomy and systematics

The austral pygmy owl has sometimes been treated as a subspecies of ferruginous pygmy owl (''Glaucidium brasilianum'') but DNA studies and other data support its being a species in its own right. It is monotypic.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 24 August 2021. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved August 24, 2021Norambuena, H. V. (2020). Austral Pygmy-Owl (''Glaucidium nana''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.aupowl1.01 retrieved September 6, 2021 Austral_Pygmy-owl

Description

The austral pygmy owl is long. Males weigh and females . It has gray-brown and red morphs and intergrades between them. Adults of both morphs have a pale grayish brown face with dark flecks, whitish "brows" over pale yellow eyes, and black "false eyes" on the nape. The gray-brown morph's upperparts are dark grayish brown with whitish dots of variable size and shape. The tail is also dark grayish brown with narrow buffy bars. The throat is white, the sides of the upper breast dark grayish brown, and the underparts off-white with dark grayish brown streaks. The red morph has a similar pattern but reddish brown replaces the dark grayish brown.

Distribution and habitat

The austral pygmy owl is found from approximately Valparaíso Province in Chile and

Neuquén Province Neuquén () is a province of Argentina, located in the west of the country, at the northern end of Patagonia. It borders Mendoza Province to the north, Rio Negro Province to the southeast, and Chile to the west. It also meets La Pampa Province a ...

in western Argentina south to the tip of Tierra del Fuego. In Chile it ranges in elevation from sea level to . It inhabits a variety of landscapes from city parks and farmland with scattered trees to deciduous forests and thickets, evergreen shrublands, temperate and southern beech ('' Nothofagus'') forests, and Patagonian scrub/steppe.

Behavior

Feeding

The austral pygmy owl is primarily diurnal but is also active at night. It is a solitary hunter that sallies from perches to capture insects, birds, mammals, and reptiles. It has been documented taking birds almost double its own weight.

Breeding

The austral pygmy owl usually nests in a tree cavity but has also been documented using holes in earthen banks. They lay a clutch of three to five eggs between September and November, and the female alone incubates them.

Vocalization

The austral pygmy owl has five primary vocalizations. Pairs maintain contact with "a whistle with 6 to 7 notes/sec described as ''huj-huj-huj-huj-huj-huj''". Their territorial call is "a sharp trill described as ''truie-truie-yi-yi''". Nestlings make "soft metallic chirps ''trigigigirrr'' or ''trigigick''". Both sexes make a courtship call, "a whistle...described as ''tiririi-tiririi'', and an undefined call rendered as ''diud'' or ''diuh''".

Status

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

has assessed the austral pygmy owl as being of Least Concern. Though its population has not been quantified, the species is "reported to be the most abundant owl in Chile". In agricultural areas it is persecuted because its nocturnal calls are interpreted as an ill omen.

References

External links

Austral Pygmy Owl videos
on the Internet Bird Collection

(for Chile) with RangeMap
Austral Pygmy Owl photo gallery
VIRE
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prba.com {{Taxonbar, from=Q1274057 austral pygmy owl Birds of Chile Birds of Patagonia Birds of Tierra del Fuego austral pygmy owl Taxonomy articles created by Polbot