| Unspotted saw-whet owl | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Strigiformes |
| Family: | Strigidae |
| Genus: | Aegolius |
| Species: | A. ridgwayi |
| Binomial name | |
| Aegolius ridgwayi (Alfaro, 1905) | |
 | |
The unspotted saw-whet owl (Aegolius ridgwayi) is a small "typical owl" in subfamily Surniinae. It is found in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Panama. [3] [4] [5]
The unspotted saw-whet owl's taxonomy is unsettled. The International Ornithological Committee (IOC) treats it as monotypic. The Clements taxonomy and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) assign it three subspecies, the nominate A. r. ridgwayi, A. r. tacanensis, and A. r. rostratus. HBW's assignment is provisional. A. r. tacanensis and A. r. rostratus were each described from a single specimen. The unspotted saw-whet owl and the northern saw-whet owl (A. acadicus) form a superspecies and some authors have proposed that they are a single species. [3] [5] [4] [6]
The unspotted saw-whet owl is 18 to 21.5 cm (7.1 to 8.5 in) long and weighs about 80 to 90 g (2.8 to 3.2 oz). Its upperparts, throat, and upper breast are plain sepia brown and the lower breast and belly plain cinnamon buff. The tail is a darker brown and the wings generally a grayer brown. Its facial disk is brown with a narrow white border; the lores, chin, and "eyebrows" are whitish. It has yellow eyes. The two putative subspecies other than the nominate differ only slightly from it. [6]
The nominate subspecies of unspotted saw-whet owl is found from central Costa Rica into western Panama. A. r. tacanensis is found in Mexico's Chiapas state. A. r. rostratus is found in Guatemala and northwestern El Salvador. [5] The species inhabits humid temperate montane forest. Vegetation communities include humid oak forest, cloudforest, and pine-oak forest. It generally stays in the forest canopy but can be found in more open areas with scattered trees but close to forest edges. In elevation it ranges between 1,700 and 3,000 m (5,600 and 9,800 ft) in the northern part of its range, between 2,200 and 2,900 m (7,200 and 9,500 ft) in Costa Rica, and between 2,100 and 3,500 m (6,900 and 11,500 ft) in Panama. [6]
The unspotted saw-whet owl is nocturnal. It is usually solitary, except in the breeding season, and is thought to be territorial. Its flight is described as "fluttery, agile, with quick wingbeats." [6]
The unspotted saw-whet owl is resident throughout its range. [6]
The unspotted saw-whet owl's diet has not been detailed. Small mammals such as shrews and rodents are thought to be its primary prey. It is also thought to take birds and bats. [6]
The unspotted saw-whet owl's breeding phenology is not well known. Its breeding season appears to span between at least March and July. It nests in cavities, either natural or made by woodpeckers, and is thought to lay five or six eggs. [6]
The male unspotted saw-whet owl's territorial call is "a whistled hoo hoo hoo…" given about 10 times over three to five seconds. Females give "a hight, slightly hissing ssirr". Both sexes give "a surprisingly loud shriek and a shrill short chipper". The call of tree frogs of genus Anotheca is extremely similar to the owl's song and easily confused with it. [6]
The IUCN originally assessed the unspotted saw-whet owl as Near Threatened but since 2004 has rated it as being of Least Concern. Its population size is not known but is believed to be stable. [1] Only in the highest elevations of its range is its forest habitat relatively undisturbed; at lower elevations deforestation for timber, agriculture, and pasturing is widespread. Mexican conservation authorities list it as in peril of extinction in that country. [6]
The plain-brown woodcreeper, is a sub-oscine passerine bird in subfamily Dendrocolaptinae of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in the tropical New World from Honduras through South America to central Brazil and in Trinidad and Tobago.
The collared trogon is a near passerine bird in family Trogonidae, the quetzals and trogons. It is found in Mexico, throughout Central America, and in northern South America.
The snowcap is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama.
Aegolius is a genus of small true owls. The genus name is from Latin, aegolius, is a type of screech owl that was thought to be a bird of ill omen.
The buffy tuftedcheek or Lawrence's tuftedcheek is a passerine bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Costa Rica and Panama.
The long-billed hermit is a bird in the family Trochilidae, the hummingbirds. It is found from central Mexico south through Central America, Colombia and Ecuador into Peru.
The green thorntail is a small hummingbird in the "coquettes", tribe Lesbiini of subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Panama.
The plain xenops is a passerine bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in the tropical New World from southern Mexico south as far as northern Bolivia and east across Brazil.
The grey-headed dove (Leptotila plumbeiceps) is a large New World dove. It is found from eastern Mexico to Colombia.
The spot-crowned woodcreeper, is a passerine bird in the subfamily Dendrocolaptinae of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. it is found in Middle America from Mexico to Panama.
The Costa Rican pygmy owl is a small "typical owl" in subfamily Surniinae. It is found in Costa Rica and Panama.
The Central American pygmy owl is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found in Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama.
The tropical screech owl is a small species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found in Costa Rica, Panama, Trinidad, and every mainland South American country.
The Middle American screech owl, also known as the Guatemalan screech owl, is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found from northern Mexico to western Panama.
The song wren is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama.
The tawny-throated leaftosser is a tropical American bird species in subfamily Sclerurinae, the leaftossers and miners, of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is also known as the Middle American leaftosser and less frequently as tawny-throated leafscraper, Mexican leaftosser or Mexican leafscraper. It is found from Mexico to Panama.
The timberline wren is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is found in Costa Rica and western Panama.
The spotted woodcreeper is a species of bird in the subfamily Dendrocolaptinae of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama.
The vermiculated screech owl, is a subspecies, or possibly separate species, of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama.
The Talamanca hummingbird or admirable hummingbird is a species of hummingbird in the "mountain gems", tribe Lampornithini in subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Costa Rica and Panama.
