Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl

Overview
Ferruginous Pygmy Owl: Small owl, plain brown upperparts, white underparts with thick, brown streaks. Round head has stripes and no ear tufts. Nape has two conspicuous black patches outlined in white. Tail is long and rufous with dark brown bars. Flight is rapid and direct with unmuffled wing beats.

Range and Habitat
Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl: Occurs in southern Arizona and extreme southern Texas. Found in riparian areas within deserts. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the Arizona population as an endangered species in March 1997.

The Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl is rated at this time as Least Concern. This is a terrestrial bird that has a fairly extensive range of up to 13 million square kilometers. The population of this bird is believed to be as many as 50 million individual birds. The Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl is native to South America, Central America and portions of North America. This bird species was once rated as Lower Risk, but that rating was downgraded in 2004 to Least Concern due to its extremely large population as well as its extensive range.

INTERESTING FACTS
The Ferruginous Pygmy Owl is crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk), and often hunts by day. This bird can be readily located by the small birds that mob it while it is perched in a tree. Up to 40 birds of 11 species have been recorded mobbing one owl. The call is easily imitated, and is used by birdwatchers to attract small birds intent on mobbing, and other pygmy owls. A group of owls has many collective nouns, including a "bazaar", "glaring", "parliament", "stooping", and "wisdom" of owls.