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Photo by Rob
Silvakra, Sweden, January 2000

Glaucidium passerinum

Identification

Length: Males 15.2-17cm (6-6.7"); females 17.4-19cm (6.8-7.5")
Weight: Males 50-65g (1.76-2.3oz); females 67-77g (2.36-2.7oz)
Mainly dark rufous to greyish-brown above, with whitish spots; breast streaked brown and off-white, with mottled brown flanks; marked white half collar around nape; tail brown to grey-brown, with 5 narrow, off-white bars; round head, no ear tufts; face whitish with brown streaks; eyes yellow; bill yellowish; legs and toes are feathered.

Variations

The subspecies orientale has paler upperparts with purer white and more sharply defined spots. Also the breast and flanks are more strongly marked brown.

Distribution

Boreal forests of Scandinavia, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, northwest and central Russia across to Siberia, including Sakhalin and some parts of northeastern China. Also occuring in mountains of central and eastern Europe, particulary in the Alps (France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Slovenia), the Carpathian Mountains (Slovakia, Romania) and the Ore mountains (Germany, Czech Republic).

Adults are generally resident, but sometimes move to lower altitudes (south) in severe winters. Immatures often roam about in Autumn and Winter, and have even been seen as far west as Britain.

Photo by Rob
Silvakra, Sweden, January 2000

Taxonomy

The Eurasian Pygmy-Owl is sometimes considered to form a superspecies with the Collared Owlet, the Pearl-spotted Owlet, the Northern Pygmy Owl and the Mountain Pygmy Owl. However, new DNA evidence denies a close relation to the Northern Pygmy-Owl of North America.

Subspecies

Two subspecies are recognized^[1], Glaucidium passerinum passerinum in the western part of the range and Glaucidium passerinum orientale in the eastern part. They intergrade in western Siberia and the Altai Mountains. First described by Carolus Linnaeus in 1758.

Habitat

Mainly coniferous forest in the boreal zone and corresponding montane coniferous and mixed forest in higher mountains. Prefers semi-open mature forest with clearings. Nest sites are usually found in moist or swampy areas, near a water source and with groups of younger spruces nearby.

Behaviour

The smallest European owl, it often perches at the top of trees.

Diet

Eurasian Pygmy-Owls are hunting for small mammals, especially voles and small birds. They rely on surprise, sitting on a perch and waiting for their prey. They hunt tits and finches, but also woodpeckers or thrushes. Their prefered time is at dusk or dawn, but they also hunt at day and can be seen sometimes in the middle of the day, sitting on the top of a tree.

Breeding

Breeding season is from April to July. Eurasian Pygmy-Owls nest in natural holes or holes excavated by woodpeckers. They also accept nestboxes. Usually 4 to 7 eggs are laid which are incubated by the female while the male is hunting. The incubation takes about 30 days and after another 30 days the young are flegded. They're fed for another month by their parents before they are chased out of the parents' territory.

Vocalisation

References

1. Clements, JF. 2010. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2010. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/Clements%206.5.xls/view

• List of references

External Links