The subtropical pygmy owl (''Glaucidium parkeri'') is a species of

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 ...

in the family

Strigidae The true owls or typical owls (family Strigidae) are one of the two generally accepted families of owls, the other being the barn owls (Tytonidae). This large family comprises 230 living or recently extinct species in 24 genera. The typical ow ...

. It is found in

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

, Colombia,

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar language, Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechuan ...

, and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

.Schulenberg, T. S. (2020). Subtropical Pygmy-Owl (''Glaucidium parkeri''), 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.supowl1.01 retrieved September 6, 2021

Taxonomy and systematics

The subtropical pygmy owl's specific epithet honors Theodore A. (Ted) Parker III, "who for over twenty years accumulated an unparalleled knowledge of Neotropical birds and graciously shared his vast expertise with all". It 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 "unispec ...

Description

The subtropical pygmy owl is about long; three males had an average weight of . It has a widespread brown morph and a rare rufous morph. Adults of the former have a grayish-brown crown; the crown and the sides of the face have prominent white spots. Its nape, like those of most ''Glaucidium'' pygmy owls, has black "false eyes". The back and rump are dark brown and the tail blackish with spotty white bands. The underparts are white with broad dull reddish-olive brown streaks. The juvenile plumage has not been described.

Distribution and habitat

The subtropical pygmy owl is found on the east slope of the Andes from far southwestern Colombia through Ecuador and Peru to central Bolivia. In elevation it ranges from in Ecuador, between in Peru, and between in Bolivia. It inhabits humid

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucia ...

Behavior

Feeding

The subtropical pygmy owl is active both day and night. Nothing has been published about its diet, which is presumed to be large

arthropod Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...

s and small vertebrates.

Breeding

Nothing has been published about the subtropical pygmy owl's breeding

phenology Phenology is the study of periodic events in biological life cycles and how these are influenced by seasonal and interannual variations in climate, as well as habitat factors (such as elevation). Examples include the date of emergence of leav ...

. It is presumed to nest in tree cavities such as old woodpecker holes.

Vocalization

The subtropical pygmy owl's song is "three or four short phrases (normally 2-4 or 6 in intervals of several seconds) of low tone increasing when ending the two notes hu-hu, hu, and having a hesitation before the last note".

Status

The IUCN has assessed the subtropical pygmy owl as being of

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

. Its population size is unknown but is believed to be stable.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q145846 Glaucidium (owl) Birds described in 1995 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot