Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesFerruginous Pygmy-Owl
Small owl with round head lacking ear tufts. Body color ranges from cinnamon to grayish-brown. Crown has fine whitish streaks. Whitish underparts have thick streaks that often merge on the sides and top of the breast.
© Santiago Carvalho / Macaulay LibraryCerro Largo, May 11, 2016Body color ranges from grayish-brown to cinnamon. Wings have large white spots. Whitish underparts have thick streaks that often merge on the sides, creating a pattern with three prominent vertical white lines.
© Brian Henderson / Macaulay LibraryMato Grosso, August 27, 2016Song is a series of monotonous tooting notes, easily imitated by whistling.
© Jay McGowan / Macaulay LibraryGuárico, December 27, 2012Not all videos have sound
Dark facial disc is streaked with white. Whitish eyebrows vary in size. Iris is lemon yellow. Bill is greenish yellow.
© Ian Davies / Macaulay LibraryQuintana Roo, January 14, 2014Found in many habitats across its range, including Sonoran desert scrub in Arizona.
© Walker Noe / Macaulay LibraryArizonaActive during the daytime and at night; most active at dawn and dusk.
© Walker Noe / Macaulay LibraryArizonaTypical pygmy-owl shape—round head (without ear tufts), plump body, and long tail.
© Gilberto Flores-Walter (Feathers Birding) / Macaulay LibraryFrancisco Morazán, December 05, 2015Upperparts can vary from cinnamon to grayish-brown. Birds with cinnamon upperparts have cinnamon-and-brown barring on the tail.
© Matthew Bell / Macaulay LibraryPuntarenas, May 31, 2016Similar SpeciesNorthern Pygmy-Owl
Northern Pygmy-Owls have a spotted (rather than streaked) crown. Where they overlap in Arizona, Northern Pygmy-Owls occur in higher elevation forest while Ferruginous Pygmy-Owls use lower elevation desert habitats. Many pygmy-owl species overlap with Ferruginous across its range; elevation, habitat, and vocalizations are the best ways to distinguish them.
© Blair Dudeck / Macaulay LibraryBritish Columbia, October 28, 2022Similar SpeciesElf Owl
Elf Owls are not active in the daylight like Ferruginous Pygmy-Owls. They have gold spotting on the crown (versus whitish streaking) and have a different underpart pattern than Ferruginous Pygmy-Owls.
© Jun Tsuchiya / Macaulay LibraryArizona, April 30, 2023Rotate Your Device to Better Compare
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