We are taught when we’re young that the owl says “who-who,” but this wasn’t the sound I heard walking down my street one night after a neighbor asked what bird was making all the racket outside his window. It was more like a “toot-toot,” one right after another, like a short whistle blow on a cheap wooden flute, and it was extremely loud, projecting a good half block. When I told a friend about the noisy call, she identified the bird as a pygmy-owl. I listened to a few YouTube videos to confirm her identification, and sure enough she was right.
As its name implies, the northern pygmy-owl, Glaucidium gnoma, is small compared to most owls, approximately 7 inches in length — smaller than an adult hand. It has a wingspan of 14.5 inches and weighs a little over 2 ounces. Its plumage, including the head, is grayish-brown and speckled with small white spots. The bird’s white breast appears painted with thin brown brush strokes. Another simple identifier is the barred tail that extends beyond its wing tips, often cocked to one side, streaks of six to seven white horizontal lines crossing its dark feathers. Overall, the pygmy-owl is a small, round, plump little bird with spots and lines.
Looking at the back of the pygmy-owl’s head, one might believe it has two sets of eyes, possibly to fool its predators into thinking it watches from both sides. Just above the back of the neck, two black circles outlined in white appear where eyes might sit. These are appropriately called eye spots. More intimidating are its real eyes, which glare with bright yellow intensity except when the third eyelid, the nictitating membrane, covers part of the eyes in order to protect and clean them.
Late May is the perfect time to look for a pygmy-owl’s nest, located in tree cavities often made by woodpeckers. The female watches over her three to seven owlets while the male retrieves the meals, which consist of moths, beetles, grasshoppers, and small mammals including voles, bats, and birds. The pygmy-owl uses a perch-and-pounce technique, whereby it watches, waits, and then attacks. After the owl snatches its prey with its sharp zygodactyl (two pairs of toes) feet, it plucks its prey and either eats the entire thing or just the brains. The owlets leave their nest, or fledge, after a month or less, but don’t travel far from the nest, continuing to depend on their parents for food and protection at a nearby post for an additional three weeks to a month.
The pygmy-owl is diurnal as opposed to nocturnal, meaning it’s active in the day as well as at night, so there’s a good chance you might get a glimpse of this little wonder, or at least hear its piercing call.
Listen to the audio of a pygmy-owl at birds.audubon.org/birds/northern-pygmy-owl or search ‘Pygmy-Owl Calling’ and listen to the first video.
Have you heard the loud call of this diminutive bird, or had the lucky fortune to see one perched on a pine or fir? If so, email mountainlife@moonshineink.com.
