The flammulated owl (''Psiloscops flammeolus'') is a small migratory North American owl in the family

Strigidae The true owls or typical owls (family (biology), family Strigidae) are one of the two generally accepted families of owls, the other being the barn owls and bay owls (Tytonidae). This large family comprises 230 living or recently extinct species ...

. It is the only species placed in the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

''Psiloscops''.

Taxonomy

The flammulated owl was formally described in 1852 by the German naturalist

Johann Jakob Kaup Johann Jakob von Kaup (10 April 1803 – 4 July 1873) was a German naturalist. A proponent of natural philosophy, he believed in an innate mathematical order in nature and he attempted biological classifications based on the Quinarian system. Kaup ...

under the

binomial name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, altho ...

''Scops flammeola ''. He specified the type location as Mexico. This species was formerly placed with the scops owls in the

'' Otus'' but is now placed in its own genus ''Psiloscops'' that was introduced in 1899 by

Elliott Coues Elliott Ladd Coues (; September 9, 1842 – December 25, 1899) was an American army surgeon, historian, ornithologist, and author. He led surveys of the Arizona Territory, and later as secretary of the United States Geological and Geographi ...

. The name ''Psiloscops'' combines the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

''psilos'' meaning "naked" or "smooth" with the genus name ''Scops'', a synonym of '' Otus''. The specific epithet ''flammeolus'' is

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

meaning "flame-coloured", "with flame-like markings" or "flammulated". The species is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

: no subspecies are recognised. A

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

study of the owls published in 2019 found that the flammulated owl is a

sister species In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

to the Puerto Rican owl (''Gymnasio nudipes'').

Description

The flammulated owl is a small,

nocturnal Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatur ...

owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...

approximately long with a wingspan. With such large wings for a small body, they can fly rapidly from tree to tree. Males and females can be distinguished by their weight. Females are larger, ranging from and males are smaller ranging from . The owl gets the name flammulated from the flame-like markings on its face. The flammulated owl is similar in appearance to the

western screech owl The western screech owl (''Megascops kennicottii'') is a small owl native to North and Central America, closely related to the eastern screech owl. The scientific name commemorates the American naturalist Robert Kennicott. Description Length ...

, but is only about one-quarter the mass, lacks large ear tufts (but has small ear tufts that are barely visible), and has dark eyes and a different voice. The

elf owl The elf owl (''Micrathene whitneyi'') is a small grayish-brown owl about the size of a sparrow found in the Southwestern United States, central Mexico, and the Baja California peninsula. It has pale yellow eyes highlighted by thin white "eyebrow ...

is smaller and the

mountain pygmy owl The mountain pygmy owl or northern pygmy owl (''Glaucidium gnoma'') is a small species of owl from the family Strigidae. They reside throughout southern Arizona, New Mexico and Mexico. There is current taxonomic debate regarding its classificati ...

is about the same size. The call is a series of relatively deep, single or double hoots.

Distribution and habitat

It breeds from southern

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

and the

western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. As American settlement i ...

to central

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. It is a neotropical migrant and winters south of the United States, but also in

South Texas South Texas is a geographic and cultural region of the U.S. state of Texas that lies roughly south of—and includes—San Antonio. The southern and western boundary is the Rio Grande, and to the east it is the Gulf of Mexico. The population of th ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, and

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Unlike many owls, they are migratory, leaving Canada and the United States in the fall. In the winter, they are found in northern

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

, from southern Mexico to

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

and

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

. They leave their breeding grounds in August to head to their wintering areas, and then return to their breeding grounds in late April and early May.Samson, F. B. (2005). A Conservation assessment of the northern goshawk, blacked-backed woodpecker, flammulated owl, and pileated woodpecker in the Northern Region, USDA Forest Service. Unpublished report on file, Northern Region, Missoula, Montana, USA.

Behaviour and ecology

Breeding

The flammulated owl nests in tree cavities and has two to four young at a time after a 26-day incubation period. The young are able to forage for their own prey after about 25–32 days. These owls are obligate cavity nesters, meaning they only create nests in tree cavities. Females usually select cavities that used to be woodpecker or northern flicker nests. Their nests are bare and have no nesting material. Flammulated owls tend to form breeding pairs with unoccupied habitat between breeding clusters.Marti, C. Flammulated Owls (''Otus flammerlous'') breeding in deciduous forests. Unlike most owls, the Flammulated Owl often nests in loose colonies. According to EBird.org, One observation group once found 47 singing birds along a five mile stretch of road near Provo, UT. They tend to have one clutch of eggs annually. Like other raptors, they can live long and have high nesting success, and during the nesting period, the female owls rely on the males to forage for them. Nesting habitat in the western U.S. and Canada is usually mature, open

ponderosa pine ''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine, is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is t ...

and

Douglas fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is the tallest tree in the Pinaceae family. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Or ...

forests. Flammulated owls can also be found breeding in deciduous forests with some conifers present. In deciduous habitat, they can still breed productively.

Food and feeding

They feed almost entirely on insects, but very occasionally eat small mammals such as shrews and small rodents. The insects they eat mostly consist of small

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organ ...

. They also eat crickets and beetles.

Conservation status

Currently, the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

lists the flammulated owl as a species of

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

, but populations may be declining in some areas. Juvenile flammulated owl2

References

External links

USGS Identification TipsRangeMap & synopsis
InfoNatura NatureServe

- VIREO * ttps://web.archive.org/web/20060710160106/http://greglasley.net/Images/Flammulated-Owl-0002.jpg Photo-High Resbr>Article & short synopsis
- Photo gallery
A recording of the flammulated owl's hoots at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology
{{Taxonbar, from=Q27074736

flammulated owl The flammulated owl (''Psiloscops flammeolus'') is a small migratory North American owl in the family Strigidae. It is the only species placed in the genus ''Psiloscops''. Taxonomy The flammulated owl was formally described in 1852 by the Germa ...

Native birds of Western Canada Native birds of the Western United States Meso-American montane bird species