Pygmy owl

Glaucidium is also a plant genus in the Buttercup family, Ranunculaceae.
Pygmy owls
African Barred Owlet
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Strigiformes
Family: Strigidae
Genus: Glaucidium
F. Boie, 1826
Species

Some 26[1] -35, see text.

Pygmy Owls are members of the genus Glaucidium. They belong to the typical owl family Strigidae, one of the two generally accepted living families of owls. The genus consists of about 26 to 35 species distributed worldwide. The exact number of species is somewhat disputed.

These are mostly small owls, and some of the species are called "owlets". Most pygmy owl species are nocturnal and hunt mainly large insects and other small prey.

Species

The supposed prehistoric species "Glaucidium" dickinsoni is now recognized as a burrowing owl, probably a paleosubspecies providentiae. Bones of an indeterminate Glaucidium have been recovered from Late Pliocene deposits in Poland (Mlíkovský 2002).

References

  1. ^ "Glaucidium". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=177901. Retrieved 2010-12-29. 

External links