Austral Pygmy-Owl

About the Austral Pygmy-Owl

The austral pygmy owl (Glaucidium nana) is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found mainly in central and southern Chile, but also in some parts of southern Argentina. The austral pygmy owl has sometimes been treated as a subspecies of ferruginous pygmy owl (Glaucidium brasilianum) but DNA studies and other data support its being a species in its own right. It is monotypic.

The austral pygmy owl is 17 to 21 cm (6.7 to 8.3 in) long. Males weigh 56 to 75 g (2.0 to 2.6 oz) and females 70 to 100 g (2.5 to 3.5 oz). It has gray-brown and red morphs and intergrades between them. Adults of both morphs have a pale grayish brown face with dark flecks, whitish "brows" over pale yellow eyes, and black "false eyes" on the nape. The gray-brown morph's upperparts are dark grayish brown with whitish dots of variable size and shape. The tail is also dark grayish brown with narrow buffy bars. The throat is white, the sides of the upper breast dark grayish brown, and the underparts off-white with dark grayish brown streaks. The red morph has a similar pattern but reddish brown replaces the dark grayish brown. Wikipedia →