Costa Rican pygmy owl
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Costa Rican pygmy owl ( Glaucidium costaricanum ) |
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| Glaucidium costaricanum | ||||||||||
| L. Kelso , 1937 |
The Costa Rican pygmy owl ( Glaucidium costaricanum ) is a small species of pygmy owl . It occurs exclusively in Central America.
Appearance
The Costa Rican pygmy owl reaches a height of about 15 centimeters. Feather ears are missing. The face veil is pale brown to yellowish brown with reddish spots and fine stripes that run from the eyes to the edge of the face veil. The eyebrows are whitish. Like all pygmy owls, it has an occipital face on the neck , which is particularly pronounced in this species. The back plumage is slightly spotted, the plumage on the underside of the body is whitish. The sides of the chest are spotted, as is the lower abdomen. The fore chest, however, has a large area that is devoid of darker markings.
It can be confused with the Guatemala pygmy owl , which is a bit reddish overall. The top of the body of the gnome pygmy owl is more gray-brown. The Yucatán pygmy owl is smaller and has a gray-brown, spotted head.
Distribution area and habitat
The distribution area of the Costa Rican pygmy owl extends from the center of Costa Rica to the west of Panama. It is not certain to what extent this species also occurs in eastern Panama. The Costa Rican pygmy owl is a resident bird that inhabits mountain and cloud forests. Its height distribution ranges from 900 meters above sea level to the tree line.
Way of life
The Costa Rican pygmy owl is partly diurnal. Its food spectrum consists mainly of insects and other small vertebrates. This includes small birds, small mammals, and reptiles. He usually hunts from a stand guard. He mainly uses old woodpecker holes as a nesting opportunity. Otherwise, its reproductive biology has not yet been very well researched.
supporting documents
Single receipts
literature
- Claus König , Friedhelm Weick: Owls of the World . Christopher Helm, London 2008, ISBN 978-0-7136-6548-2
Web links
- Glaucidium costaricanum in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2013.1. Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved October 9, 2013.