Birds & Birding in Costa Rica: – Costa Rica’s national motto and tourism slogan, “La Pura Vida” loosely translates to Live Life or Enjoy Life. With over 900 bird species recorded in Costa Rica, there is certainly lots to enjoy! With 12 of the world’s 18 life zones, its diverse landscapes, including tropical rainforests, cloud forests, mangroves, and savannas, provide habitat for a wide range of iconic birds A Reflections of the Natural World Blog Post Series by Jim Gain
ABOUT THIS SPECIES
FERRUGINOUS PYGMY-OWL – (Species Account Blog #99)
TAXONOMIC TREE:
- ORDER: Strigiformes,
- FAMILY: Strigidae,
- BINOMIAL NAME: Glaucidium brasilianum
The Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl is a permanent resident from the southwestern United States to southern South America, occurring in tropical, subtropical, and cold temperate lowlands (sea level to 1,400 m in the United States and Mexico; to 1,900 m in Central America). Color varies from rusty to grayish overall, but all color types have fine whitish streaks on crown (not spots) and numerous, narrow dark tail bars. It occupies a wide variety of ecosystems, from semiarid desert scrub to lush tropical rain forest. (from Birds of the World)
SIMILAR SPECIES
Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl is similar to members of the Northern Pygmy-Owl group (Northern Pygmy-Owl G. gnoma; Costa Rican Pygmy-Owl G. costaricanum; and Cloud-forest Pygmy-Owl G. nubicola), members of which are similar in size and shape to Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, and may have a similar number of pale bars on the tail. As is the case with many members of the Least Pygmy-Owl group, all species in the Northern Pygmy-Owl group typically occur at higher elevations than Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl. These species also have small pale spots on the crown, not the narrow pale crown streaks of Ferruginous. Where their ranges overlap in North America (e.g., Arizona), Northern Pygmy Owls (G. gnoma) also have fewer tail bands that are usually whitish (not rufous and dark brown, typical of Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl in U.S.).
GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION
PERSONAL OBSERVATION ANECDOTES
In Costa Rica we observed 10 Ferruginous Pygmy-Owls, mostly at Punta Leona and again at Hotel Robledal in San José.
PHOTO GALLERY
**Some of these Photo Gallery images (all taken by me) have been taken in other nearby countries.
RECENT BLOG POSTS
View the five most recent Birds & Birding in Costa Rica series blog posts below.
- A Streak-headed Woodcreeper Feeds its Offspring Near the Arenal Observatory Lodge, Costa Rica
- PALE-BILLED WOODPECKER – Pura Vida Birds and Birding
- SMOKY-BROWN WOODPECKER – Pura Vida Birds and Birding
- HOFFMANN’S WOODPECKER – Pura Vida Birds and Birding
- BLACK-CHEEKED WOODPECKER – Pura Vida Birds and Birding
Reflections of the Natural World 
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