Tamaulipas Pygmy Owl (Glaucidium sanchezi)

Tamaulipas Pygmy Owl

[order] STRIGIFORMES | [family] Strigidae | [latin] Glaucidium sanchezi | [authority] Lowery and Newman, 1949 | [UK] Tamaulipas Pygmy Owl | [FR] du Tamaulipas | [DE] Sanchezzwergkauz | [ES] Mochuelo Tamaulipeco | [NL] Tamaulipas dwerguil

Subspecies

Genus Species subspecies Region Range
Glaucidium sanchezi MA ne Mexico

Genus

Members of the genus Glaucidium are very small and tiny owls. They have rounded heads without ear-tufts. Their eyes are yellow. In many species the talons are, in relation to their size, very powerful. The facial disc is not very distinct. Some species have a large dark patch with a pale border on each side of the nape of the neck, looking like false eyes. Many are partly diurnal and sing from exposed perches. These are mostly very tenacious in the hunt, and show little fear, even of approaching humans. Glaucidium is a worldwide genus, containing some 30 species. Most of the Asian species, and some of the African species show physical and behavioural differences that suggest they might be better placed in Athene, and DNA evidence suggests that there is only a distant relationship between the Old World Pygmy Owls and those of the New World.

Physical charateristics

The male has a gray-brown crown and nape with fine pale buff to whitish spots on the forecrown; the nape contrasts slightly with the grayish olive-brown back. Bars on the closed wings are formed by pale cinnamon to pale buff spots on the outer webs of the primaries and secondaries. The chest sides and underpart streaks are dark olivaceous tawny-brown, and the tail has six whitish bars. The female has the crown, nape, and upperparts washed with cinnamon and dorsally is overall fairly uniform and distinctly redder than the male. The forecrown is finely spotted with pale buffy-cinnamon. The chest sides and underpart streaks are dark rufous-brown, and the six pale tail bars are tinged buff to pale cinnamon. In two of six males and one of four females the pale head spots extend back laterally to the nape.

Listen to the sound of Tamaulipas Pygmy Owl

[audio:http://www.planetofbirds.com/MASTER/STRIGIFORMES/Strigidae/sounds/Tamaulipas Pygmy Owl.mp3]

Copyright remark: Most sounds derived from xeno-canto


wingspan min.: 0 cm wingspan max.: 0 cm
size min.: 13 cm size max.: 18 cm
incubation min.: 0 days incubation max.: 0 days
fledging min.: 0 days fledging max.: 0 days
broods: 0   eggs min.: 2  
      eggs max.: 4  

Range

Middle America : Northeast Mexico. endemic to northeastern Mexico where it occurs locally in southern Tamaulipas and eastern San Luis Potosi

Habitat

It inhabits subtropical, humid evergreen and semideciduous forest from 900 to 2100 m elevation

Reproduction

Nest is built in tree cavity, often old Woodpecker nest. Clutch size 2-4 eggs

Feeding habits

Diet consists of large insects and small reptiles

Video Tamaulipas Pygmy Owl

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMt9e2b1iZs

copyright: Greg R Homel


Conservation

Although this species may have a restricted range, it is not believed to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be stable, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size may be moderately small to large, but it is not believed to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.
Tamaulipas Pygmy Owl status Least Concern

Migration

Resident

Distribution map

Tamaulipas Pygmy Owl distribution range map

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *