Ferruginous Pygmy-owl call (two phrases) - Nueva Becal Click on spectrogram to download sound file

Song Description:

The Ferruginous Pygmy-owl's call is a long series of repeated hollow whistles which can be easily imitated by humans. Howell and Webb (1995) claim that calls may sometimes end with a series of "high, yelping twitters" while Stiles & Skutch (1989) suggest a "sharp bark or whinny" terminates some calls.

Song Measures:

Each of the short identical syllables is an upslurred whistle, rising from 1170 to 1320 Hz.  Syllables are repeated in long phrases at a rate of approximately three per second.  Davis (1972) reports that one phrase may contain from 10 to 60 syllables, although I recorded one phrase that contained only four (N = five songs from one individual in Nueva Becal).

Singing Behaviour:

Pygmy-owl calls elicit a strong mobbing response from many passerines, including many warblers and vireos. Imitation of this vocalization often attracts more small passerines than pishing does.

Habitat:

Ferruginous Pygmy-owls were heard very frequently in both thick forests and shrubby woodlands, often calling from within the thickest foliage.

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All information and photographs copyright Daniel J. Mennill 1999.
No recordings or other information from this site may be used without written permission from me. 
Please email me (dmennill AT uwindsor DOT ca) and I will happily grant permission for any non-commercial or education purposes.