Fun Northern Pygmy Owl Facts For Kids

What comes to your mind when you hear the word owl? Well, you might imagine the description of an owl and think about the fact that they are active at night and have a black and white vision.

So what makes the northern pygmy owls (Glaucidium gnoma) different from normal owls? Northern pygmy owls are small birds that are active in the daytime in order to search for their prey effectively.

Moreover, northern pygmy owls (Glaucidium gnoma) are one of the tiniest owls of North America, having short wings and yellow eyes. Behavior of mountain pygmy owls makes them aerial foragers.

Inhabiting most of the tundra region, dwelling in small cavities of coniferous trees, these owls have interesting facts and features to behold. Here are some of the most fascinating aspects of the northern pygmy owl for your perusal. Afterward, do check our other articles on the great gray owl and the tawny owl as well.

Northern Pygmy Owl Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a northern pygmy owl?

The northern pygmy owl (glaucidium californicum) is a tiny bird and a ferocious hunter obsessing to prey on songbirds. These diurnal birds are ferocious hunters and are known for their predation skills, thus having a reputation of pursuit and an ambush predator.

What class of animal does a northern pygmy owl belong to?

A northern pygmy owl (glaucidium californicum) is a plump and tiny owl that belongs to the class Aves. These birds of prey can be seen hunting small animals like California quail, especially during dawn and dusk.

How many northern pygmy owls are there in the world?

As per the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, northern pygmy owls basically have a worldwide population of around 80,000, and thus they acquire the Least Concern conservation status. They can be found in their natural habitat in forests. Their preferred habitat and nesting sites are old woodpecker holes.

Where does a northern pygmy owl live?

Northern pygmy owls live in deciduous and coniferous forest edges or mixed woods as well as in tropical, subtropical, and temperate moist forests. As per the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, they are also found in savanna and wetlands in open habitats.

What is a northern pygmy owl's habitat?

Northern pygmy owls live in tree cavities dug by woodpeckers and nest themselves in the cavity. Their habitat includes the tundra region and the coniferous and deciduous forest edges.

They are mostly found in the mid-level of the mountains but these birds also show their presence at sea level in other parts. These breeding birds mostly prefer open and scattered openings to thrive rather than packed forests.

Who do northern pygmy owls live with?

Northern pygmy owls live alongside small birds like hummingbirds, warblers, blackbirds, jays, wrens, and other songbirds, thereby forming a family or a pack.

How long does a northern pygmy owl live?

A northern pygmy owl can live up to three years since one of the oldest owls lived for about three years and 11 months in Oregon.

How do they reproduce?

They have their breeding season from April to early June. Both the sexes of the northern pygmy owl call each other by communicating their trills across nearby trees.

The male and female owls thus copulate, and the female incubates for a period of 29 days, after laying about two to seven eggs in the nest. The male owl defends the nest as well as the eggs from predators and thereby marks the territory by bringing food.

These breeding birds grow to become adults in about two weeks after hatching and are thereafter taken care of by the parent owls for another 20-30 days. Their families are nested in tree cavities dug by woodpeckers in coniferous and deciduous forest edges.

What is their conservation status?

According to the IUCN Red List, the species has a status of Least Concern, hence these North American birds are not endangered and do not face any extinction threat. These breeding birds are not commonly seen but are widespread and thus show no decline as such.

Northern Pygmy Owl Fun Facts

What do northern pygmy owls look like?

A northern pygmy owl is a plump little owl associated with short feathers and a long tail. This bird has a characteristic status of having false eyes because of ringed structures at the back of the head outlined in white, along with the actual yellow eyes piercing at the front.

Although this bird is a tiny owl, the way this species cleverly hunts the prey makes it a ferocious hunter. These owls are mostly round-headed and dark brown in color, with white spots on their head.

How cute are they?

Northern pygmy owls are tiny, plump, and adorable birds with white speckles on their head and spots at their back. At the same time, they are extremely ferocious when it comes to hunting.

How do they communicate?

The northern pygmy owls communicate by releasing a series of high-pitched toots, and thus, they call the male owls for copulation in the same manner. These breeding birds also use a variety of trills, chirps, and twitters as a response from the nearby tree to each other.

How big is a northern pygmy owl?

A northern pygmy owl has a size of 6-7 in (15-17 cm) and a wingspan of 15 in (38 cm). It is one of the tiniest owls of North America but claims to be a ferocious hunter by preying on animals bigger than itself. It is not much bigger than a house sparrow.

How fast can a northern pygmy owl fly?

They fly really fast across the trees, thereby taking a high perch for hunting their prey. They swoop up and down the trees like a shrike. Once they perch and target their prey, they make a rapid and swift pursuit flight.

How much does a northern pygmy owl weigh?

A northern pygmy owl weighs between 2-2.5 oz (62-73 g).

What are the male and female names of the species?

Northern pygmy owls do not have any distinct male and female names as such.

What would you call a baby northern pygmy owl?

Northern pygmy owl baby is also called an owlet. An owlet is not a fully developed bird and is dependent on its parents for nutrition and shelter.

What do they eat?

Northern pygmy owls have a carnivore diet. Although northern pygmy owls are small birds, they have a taste for hummingbirds, mice, lizards, eggs, small amphibians, and reptiles; hence include them as a part of their diet. They also eat mammals larger than themselves, like squirrels and gophers. Their diet also includes large insects like beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, and moths.

Are they dangerous?

Adult northern pygmy owls are known to attack humans if they try to invade their territory. They can attack anyone in the process of defending their young ones.

Would they make a good pet?

By studying their overall description, you will be able to understand that they will not make a good pet because they are dangerous and tend to attack anyone if they feel that their territory is being invaded. They are ferocious in nature and are thus not suitable to live in a hostile environment.

Thus, they are not suitable to live with a human family. Special training is necessary to know more about the habits and behavior of the owl.

Did you know...

The false eyes at the back of the owl are white ringed structures and are seen as adaptations of the owl to trick the attackers and claim that he is watching them. These owls can be found with a mob of songbirds as a noisy commotion flying in the sky.

They are diurnal and they sleep while keeping their eyes open as the eyelids become clear and white. They are active both at dawn and dusk.

They are susceptible to climate change as they mainly survive in temperate areas and tundra regions. A change in climate poses a threat to their over-winter survival.

Northern pygmy owls are also referred to as sit-and-wait predators as they first take short flights in moving across trees and perches and then they swoop on the prey after viewing the entire forest structure.

When some predator threatens them, they raise their ear tufts remarkably.

Where do you find pygmy owls?

Mountains of western North America, Canada, United States, Mexico, British Columbia, Alaska are associated with the dwelling of pygmy owls. Pygmy owls are mostly nested in cavities already drilled by the woodpeckers in coniferous trees mainly found in the tundra region as well as savannas and wetlands.

What is the smallest owl?

The smallest species of pygmy owl in the world is the elf owl which is 6 in (15 cm) tall. Micrathene whitneyi is the scientific name of the elf owl. It is no bigger than a golf ball!

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other birds from our golden masked owl facts and Galapagos penguin facts pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our Pygmy Owl coloring pages.

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