Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium brasilianum)

Breeding season habitat selection by Ferruginous Pygmy OwlsGlaucidium brasilianumin central Argentina

“…If this is the case, locations without pygmy owls should represent points enclosed in owls' home-ranges and for that reason not necessarily defended by them during the playback sessions. Some evidence supports this latter explanation: (1) similarity in tree density and dbh values between presence and absence locations could indicate a continuum of optimal habitat conditions across the xerophytic forest; (2) the abundance of woodpeckers (avian excavators) in the reserve may also suggest that nesting cavities -a critical resource for secondary cavity-nesting species (Bonar 2000, Proudfoot & Johnson 2000 -are widely available in the study area (Cockle et al 2008). The availability of nest locations across the study area was also corroborated by our observation that Ferruginous Pygmy Owls nested successfully just 5 times inside the 50 artificial nest boxes spread through the study area (J. H. Sarasola unpubl.…”

“…A good example of such gaps in our knowledge is represented by the case of the Ferruginous Pygmy Owl Glaucidium brasilianum, a cavity-nesting raptor inhabiting a variety of ecosystems across the Neotropic ecozone (Proudfoot & Johnson 2000). While the ecological counterpart of this species in Europe, the Pygmy Owl Glaucidium passerinum, has been well studied with regards to its behaviour and ecological role at the community level (Rodriguez et al 2007;Morosinotto et al 2010;Lehikoinen et al 2011), only a few studies are currently available on the habitat requirements, resource use, and distribution patterns of Ferruginous Pygmy Owls (Flesch 2003a,b, Flesch & Steidl 2006.…”

“…Moreover, the species has declined to endangered levels in the southwest USA owing to habitat loss (Johnson et al 2003); in northwest Mexico it is still common in areas where woodlands occur in association with giant columnar Saguaro cacti Carnegiea gigantean. Moving southward, information on the owl's status decreases with latitude (Proudfoot & Johnson 2000). Since habitat fragmentation and loss are currently the main causes of environmental modification, the lack of information on species occurrence and abundance in Central America may represent a crucial weakness for potential conservation actions.…”

“…Second, we characterized, at local and home-range scales, habitat structure and composition of sampled locations. Finally, because the species is expected to be sensitive to breeding habitat manipulation (Proudfoot & Johnson 2000, and references therein), we discuss our results from a conservation perspective.…”

Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium brasilianum) and Eastern Screech-Owl (Megascopes asio): New Hosts for Philornis mimicola (Diptera: Muscidae) and Ornithodoros concanensis (Acari: Argasidae)

“…Since 1994, nest boxes have been used to research the nesting ecology of ferruginous pygmy-owls (Glaucidium brisilianum) in Texas (Proudfoot and Johnson, 2000). From 1994 to 2004, ferruginous pygmy-owls used 143 nest boxes as nest sites, with an average clutch of 4.9661.04 eggs.…”