Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl
Glaucidium brasilianum
About This Species
A small owl of arid scrub, woodland and even cactus country, often active by day as well as at night, perching in the open on cactus limbs, fence posts or low branches. Its repeated, evenly spaced tooting call is delivered from a fixed perch and carries well, making it one of the easier small owls to locate by sound. Cooler morning and evening hours in the dry season tend to bring the most reliable activity.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Watch from a stationary spot rather than approaching a perched bird directly, since a calm, unhurried presence is far less likely to cause it to fly off.
- Owl protections apply broadly across its range through the Americas, though specific rules vary by country, so avoid disturbing any bird attending a nest cavity.
- A slow approach with pauses to let the bird settle usually produces better views than a continuous walk toward it.
LCAvesStrigiformesStrigidae
Seasonal Activity
271,618 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Strigiformes
- Family
- Strigidae
Photo
(c) Oscar Alejandro Morales Juárez, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Oscar Alejandro Morales Juárez
CC-BY-SA-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.