Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl

Glaucidium brasilianum

eBird gives this description of the Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl:  Widespread and generally common little owl of tropical lowlands, often seen and heard during the daytime. Favors open tropical woodland and edge, second growth areas with trees (including towns, even cities with wooded parks), tropical pine savannas. Persistent whistles and mobbing bands of small birds often draw attention to pygmy-owls, which can be perched up on open snags or buried deep in cover. Color varies from rusty to grayish overall, but all color types have fine whitish streaks on crown (not spots) and numerous, narrow dark tail bars. 

The Birds of the World site gives this introductory information about this remarkable little owl: 

This small owl is a permanent resident from the southwestern United States to southern South America, occurring in tropical, subtropical, and cold temperate lowlands (sea level to 1,400 m in the United States and Mexico; to 1,900 m in Central America). It occupies a wide variety of ecosystems, from semiarid desert scrub to lush tropical rain forest. Pairs typically nest in cavities excavated by woodpeckers, or those formed by limb decay, less often in forks or depressions in trees.

Ferruginous Pygmy-Owls are presumed monogamous, forming pairs during the fall of their first year after hatching, and nesting the following spring. Incubation and nestling development each last about 28 days. Females incubate 2–7 eggs, and both adults provide food for nestlings. Adults attend to fledglings until dispersal, 7–8 weeks after fledging.

An opportunistic predator, the Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl has a diet as diverse as its distribution, including insects, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and small mammals. Foraging rates peak during twilight hours, around sunrise and sunset. Because of its small size, long tail, and atypical diurnal and crepuscular behavior, the Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl may easily be mistaken for a passerine. When agitated, it perches with its tail cocked upward or jerks its tail up and down and from side to side.

I saw my first Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl on the grounds of the Hotel Robledal (Alajuela, Costa Rica) on the early evening of Saturday, February 4, 2023.  It was very windy and the small owl was well hidden, but I managed to get one fairly decent photograph.  I saw this same species later in my Costa Rican trip, and will add some better photos as I work on my blog post recounting this trip. 

I saw and photographed a Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl during my August 2023 trip to Brazil.  On August 30, 2023 our tour group was at Pouso Alegre Lodge in the Pantanal and I watched this Owl early that morning.  I was excited to see the bird and to practice my photography skills in the low light of early morning.  here are some of my photos from that day.