{"id":609,"date":"2017-10-27T16:26:36","date_gmt":"2017-10-27T16:26:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/biol325\/?p=609"},"modified":"2017-12-01T21:41:47","modified_gmt":"2017-12-01T21:41:47","slug":"the-northern-pygmy-owl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/biol325\/2017\/10\/27\/the-northern-pygmy-owl\/","title":{"rendered":"The Northern Pygmy-Owl"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Northern Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium gnoma)<\/em><\/h2>\n
The cutest Murderer in North America<\/h5>\n
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NPOW perching. Picture taken by Damon West<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

The Northern Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium gnoma<\/em> or NPOW) is an elusive beast,\u00a0not because of its size (as you might gather from its name it is a rather small creature) but rather due to its aggressive hunting style (Darling, 2003<\/a>; Sibley, 2016). <\/span><\/p>\n

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NPOW consuming chipmunk. Picture by Scott Rashid<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

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“Elusive” is also an apt term to describe the Northern Pygmy-Owl, as they are a rather secluded and secretive species that typically live deep in old growth forests (Darling, 2003<\/a>). They are a difficult species to study because they are asocial creatures and their are not many to begin with (Darling 2003<\/a>). Also as they are a resident species we cannot take advantage of bottleneck areas during migration as is done with the Northern Saw-whet Owl<\/a> (Darling, 2003<\/a>, BirdLife International, 2014<\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

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NPOW distribution, Taken from Cornel Lab of Ornithology<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

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As it stands, there have yet to be estimates made of how many Northern Pygmy-owls exist (Darling, 2003<\/a>). It is suspected that their populations may be decreasing; however, it is still considered to be a species of least concern in terms of conservation efforts (Darling, 2003<\/a>; BirdLife International, 2014<\/a>). Interestingly enough we do know that this species ranges from northern Canada to Nicaragua (Birds of North America<\/a>; Sibley, 2016).<\/p>\n

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NPOW subspecies swarthi taken by Unknown<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

As to how the Northern Pygmy-owl fits onto the evolutionary tree, there is some con<\/span>fusion \u2013to put it mildly. If you want to develop a headache try comparing old scientific papers on the Norther Pygmy-Owl to modern ones, but I digress. In short, most agree that its species name is\u00a0gnoma <\/em>(though Wikipedia doesn’t agree), and because life is cruel, this species is further broken down into subspecies (Birds of North America<\/a>; Darling, 2003<\/a>; Sybley, 2016). However, to quote Darling “Taxonomy of the subspecies is complex and requires further clarification” (Darling, 2003<\/a>). But, good news! We can agree that the species local to Vancouver island and its associated islands belong the\u00a0swarthi<\/em> subspecies (Darling, 2003<\/a>).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Young NPOW in photographers grip. Taken by Unknown<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

How big is this creature? Take a moment to picture a tall Starbucks latte, drink the coffee (yes, it’s coffee), congratulations! You now hold a device large enough to entrap a Northern Pygmy owl* or, if you want to be ‘sciency’ about it, the owl is approximately 6.5\u201d tall (from bill tip to tail tip) with a wingspan of 12″, and a surprisingly long tail of about 2″ (Sibley, 2016).<\/p>\n

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*I do not endorse the trapping of small owls in coffee cups.<\/p>\n

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Perching NPOW, eyespots visible, Photo taken by Anna Elliot<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Its feathers range from a vibrant reddish brown to a calming grey brown, depending on subspecies and region, which only makes its very yellow eyes and feet all the more terrifying (Darling, 2003<\/a>; Sibley, 2016). They also have a white underbelly with brown stripes and menacing white eyebrows i.e. supercilium (Sibley, 2016). Another striking feature shared by all pygmy owls is black spots with a white ring on the back of their heads, which mimic their eyes, these are rather uncreatively referred to as eyespots (Deppe et al, <\/em>2003<\/a>; Sibley, 2016).<\/p>\n

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FPOW Taken by Trevor Hill<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

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In north america the Northern Pygmy-Owl is pretty distinct from other owls of similar size. However, in the United States and in central america positive identification becomes more difficult thanks to the Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium brasilianum)<\/em> which differ only in being a slightly more red reddish brown then its northern counter parts (Sibley, 2016).<\/p>\n

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Just in case you forgot they were little murderers. NPOW with song bird. Photo taken by Donald Jones<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

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When it comes to habitat the Northern Pygmy-owl isn’t too picky, they are largely generalist but have a slight proclivity for old growth forests, where they can murder in peace (Darling, 2003<\/a>; Sibley, 2016). This makes logging the main area of concern in terms of future conservation efforts, especially on Vancouver Island where old growth forests are becoming rarer (Darling, 2003<\/a>; BirdLife International, 2014<\/a>).<\/p>\n

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NPOW in nest. Photo Taken by Jacob Spendelow <\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

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The northern pygmy owl is a diurnal solitary creature, it mostly eats song birds and small mammals but won’t pass up a good insect (Darling, 2003<\/a>; Deshler & Murphy 2012<\/a>; Frye & Jageman, 2012<\/a>; Sibley, 2016). These agile fliers can actually chase down their prey and don’t rely solely upon being cowards and surprising them (Darling, 2003<\/a>; Deshler & Murphy 2012<\/a>). Due to its unsavoury habit of eating song birds, song birds will often gather to mob Northern Pygmy-owl’s (Deppe et al<\/em>, 2003<\/a>).<\/p>\n

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NPOW mother & chicks consuming some prey, taken by Daniel Cox<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

The Northern Pygmy-Owls are monogamous species, but only for a single mating season (Darling, 2003<\/a>; Birds of North America<\/a>). Both parents will care for the offspring; the mother will brood the chicks, the male will feed her until they hatch at which point they both go hunting to provide for their little carnivores (Deshler & Murphy 2012<\/a>; Frye & Jageman, 2012<\/a>). They nest in holes in trees, these can be naturally occurring or by squatting in a woodpeckers hard earned crevice they pecked themselves (Darling, 2003<\/a>; Frye & Jageman, 2012<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Also if you ever wanted to hear the fearsome roar of the Northern Pygmy-owl Steve Large<\/a> has got you covered.<\/p>\n

In summary, the Northern Pygmy-Owl is a fascinating poorly studied little monster, I hope you found this angry fluff ball to be as amusing as I did!<\/p>\n

P.S. Fun fact! Fledgling Norther Pygmy-owls when first learning to fly often fail and will instead end up hanging upside down… this is the results.<\/p>\n

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Fledgling NPOW hanging. Taken by Paul Bannick<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

SOURCES<\/p>\n

BirdLife International. 2014. Glaucidium gnoma. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014<\/em><\/p>\n

Darling, L. M. B.C Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection Biodiversity Branch (2003) Status of\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0the Vancouver Island Northern Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium gnoma swarthi) in\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 British\u00a0Columbia.\u00a0Wildlife Bulletin<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Deppe, C., Holt, D., Tewksbury, J., Broberg, L., Petersen, J., & Woo, K. (2003). Effect of the Northern\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium gnoma) eyespots on avain mobbing. <\/em>The American Ornithology\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Society. 120<\/em>(3), 765-771.<\/p>\n

Deshler, J. F. & Murphy, M. T. (2012) The Breeding Biology of the Northern Pygmy-Owl: Do the\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 smallest of the small have an advantage? The Condor. 114 (2), 314-322.<\/p>\n

Frye, G. G. & Jageman, H. R. (2012). Post-Fledging Ecology of Northern Pygmy-owls in the rocky\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 mountains. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 124(2): 199-207.<\/p>\n

Sibley, D. A. (2016) The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America: Second Edition. <\/em>Knopf\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Doubleday Publishing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Northern Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium gnoma) The cutest Murderer in North America The Northern Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium gnoma or NPOW) is an elusive beast,\u00a0not because of its size (as you might gather […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":618,"featured_media":686,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"aside","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-609","post","type-post","status-publish","format-aside","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","post_format-post-format-aside"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/biol325\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/biol325\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/biol325\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/biol325\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/618"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/biol325\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=609"}],"version-history":[{"count":39,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/biol325\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1482,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/biol325\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609\/revisions\/1482"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/biol325\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/biol325\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/biol325\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/biol325\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}