Flammulated Owl

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Flammulated Owl

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Strigiformes
Family:	Strigidae
Genus:	Otus
Species:	O. flammeolus

Binomial name

Otus flammeolus
Kaup, 1853

The Flammulated Owl (Otus flammeolus) is a small, nocturnal, predatory owl approximately 15 cm (6 in) long with a 36 cm (14 in) wingspan. It breeds from southern British Columbia and the western United States to central Mexico. The Flammulated Owl is similar in size to the Western Screech Owl but lacks large ear tufts and has dark eyes and a different voice (but has small ear tufts that are barely visible). The Elf Owl and Pygmy Owl are smaller.

The call is a series of relatively deep single or double hoots.

The Flammulated Owl nests in tree cavities and has 3–4 young at a time after a 26-day incubation period. Nesting habitat in the western U.S. is associated with mature, open ponderosa pine habitat. They mostly feed on insects, but will also eat mice and other small prey. Unlike many owls, they are migratory, leaving much of North America in the fall. In the winter, they are found in northern Central America, from southern Mexico to Guatemala and El Salvador.

[edit] References

BirdLife International (2004). Megascops flammeolus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
"National Geographic" Field Guide to the Birds of North America ISBN 0-7922-6877-6
Handbook of the Birds of the World Vol 5, Josep del Hoyo editor, ISBN 84-87334-25-3
"National Audubon Society" The Sibley Guide to Birds, by David Allen Sibley, ISBN 0-679-45122-6