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Scientific name:
Glaucidium gnoma |
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Family name:
Strigidae |
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Are they endangered?
They are not endangered worldwide. [IUCN Red List least
concern]
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What are their
past/present problems?
Their enemies are woodpeckers, Barred Owls, and vehicles
when they fly into their windshields. |
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What do they look
like?
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How big are they?
These birds are about 6 inches long. If their wings
were stretched out, they would be about 15 inches wide. |
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How many eggs do they
lay?
The female lays between 2 and 7 white eggs once a year
that hatch in about a month. |
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How long do the
fledglings stay in the nest?
Pygmy Owl nests are in tree holes. They sometimes use
holes that other birds used to use. The Pygmy Owl babies
[owlets] stay in the nest for about a month. |
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When do they hunt? They
hunt mostly at night but sometimes at dawn or dusk. |
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What do they eat?
They like to eat small birds, rodents [MICE], and large insects |
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Where do they live?
They live in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Guatemala, and
Belize. |
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What kind of place do
they like to live in?
They like to live along forest edges close to meadows, lakes,
coastlines, and forest clearings. They like any kind of
forest—pine or leaf tree ones. |
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Interesting facts:
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Even though they are little birds, they are fierce.
They attack birds that are larger than they are. |
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They do not migrate. |
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These birds will swoop down on prey in the air, on the
ground, or in between. They are usually close to their
prey when they do this. |
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Just like hamsters, these owls save food for later. |
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These birds are very small and very active so they eat
often. |
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