Tiny Owls

Tuesday, July 22, 2025

Tiny Owls

Today’s special animal friends are the owlets and pygmy-owls, 29 species of darling little raptors in the genus Glaucidium. They are found throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The Eurasian pygmy-owl, Glaucidium passerinum, is the “type species” of the genus, which means it is “the particular species on which the description of the genus is based and with which the genus name remains associated during any taxonomic revision.” Originally classified in Sweden, this owl is found across northern Europe and sub-Arctic Asia, with isolated populations further south in mountainous regions of central and eastern Europe. They are very small: females about 7.5 inches high and males about 6.5 inches.

They make a variety of high, squeaky calls:

Similar in appearance — brown with white dots, more white on the front — the pearl-spotted owlet, Glaucidium perlatum, is native to Africa. This owl has false eye-spots, black with a white outline, on the back of its head, like it’s trying to be Jay Janney. Widely distributed in Africa, they prefer savannah and bushveld habitats, avoiding both dense forests and open grasslands. They are mostly diurnal but sometimes hunt at night, pursuing prey such as insects, bats, birds, rodents, and lizards. When courting, they are quite shrill:

The Andean pygmy-owl, Glaucidium jardinii, is slightly smaller than the previous two species. Found, as you’d expect, in the Andes mountains of South America, they are a rich chestnut brown with lighter brown, rather than white spotting and a barred buff-and-brown front. They have been observed at altitudes over 10,000 feet, where they frequent wooded habitats, including cloud forests, and edge zones bordering grasslands or swamps. Birds make up a large part of their diet, and they are often “mobbed” by birds of other species. Don’t miss the amazing lichens in this video!

The cloud forest pygmy-owl, Glaucidium nubicola, is a close relative and occupies some of the same habitat. Unlike the three other species, which are rated Least Concern by IUCN, the cloud forest species is considered Vulnerable because of its limited and fragile habitat. Many areas of cloud forest are threatened by logging for agricultural use. The governments of Colombia and Ecuador have marked the species and its habitat for protection. The cloud forest pygmy-owl is distinguished from the Andean species by its song.

The least pygmy-owl, Glaucidium minutissimum, is less than six inches high. It is found in evergreen forests in coastal Brazil.