Pygmy Owl
Last Review/Updated: May 31, 2002
Glaucidium gnoma
The pygmy owl can be distinguished by its small size (16 cm, 6 in. long), earless head, dark brown plumage, heavily streaked undersides and a long, barred tail. It is smaller and darker in color than the saw-whet owl. The upper parts are dark grey-brown speckled with white. Two black "eye-spots" are located on the back of the head. The underparts are predominantly white with large grey-brown patches on the sides of the breast and dark streaks throughout.
This owl prefers open coniferous and mixedwood forests of the foothill and montane zones.
During various winters, sightings have been recorded from Banff National Park and mountainous areas further north. Resident throughout the year, the pygmy owl ranges from Alaska to Central America, mainly west of the Rocky Mountains. No nest is made. Three to 4 eggs are laid in cavities in trees.
A daylight hunter, it swoops from perch to perch and onto mice and other small mammals that make up its diet.
