NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Ferruginous Pygmy Owl
Glaucidium brasilianum (J. F. Gmelin, 1788)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Ferruginous pygmy owl (Glaucidium brasilianum ridgwayi) Copan, Honduras
Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The ferruginous pygmy owl (Glaucidium brasilianum) is a species of small owl found in the southwestern United States, extending south through Mexico, Central America, and into South America, including countries like Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina.
It is the most widely distributed species of pygmy owl in Central and South America and is believed to be one of the most common owls in these regions, where it lives in a variety of semi-open wooded habitats.
Wikipedia contributors, Ferruginous pygmy owl; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T09:24:34.180995+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Glaucidium brasilianum (J. F. Gmelin, 1788)
- Name authority
- (J. F. Gmelin, 1788)
- Common name
- Ferruginous Pygmy Owl
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Strigiformes
- Family
- Strigidae
- Genus
- Glaucidium
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderStrigiformes
- familyStrigidae
- subfamilySurniinae
- genusGlaucidium F. Boie, 1826
- speciesGlaucidium brasilianum (J. F. Gmelin, 1788)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Glaucidium. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Yungas Pygmy OwlGlaucidium bolivianum C. König, 1991 | StrigidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Northern Pygmy OwlGlaucidium californicum P. L. Sclater, 1857 | StrigidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| African Barred OwletGlaucidium capense (A. Smith, 1834) | StrigidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Guatemalan Pygmy OwlGlaucidium cobanense Sharpe, 1875 | StrigidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Central American Pygmy OwlGlaucidium griseiceps Sharpe, 1875 | StrigidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Amazonian Pygmy OwlGlaucidium hardyi Vielliard, 1989 | StrigidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Andean Pygmy OwlGlaucidium jardinii (Bonaparte, 1855) | StrigidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| East Brazilian Pygmy OwlGlaucidium minutissimum (Wied-Neuwied, 1830) | StrigidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Pernambuco Pygmy OwlGlaucidium mooreorum Cardoso da Silva, Coelho & Gonzaga, 2003 | StrigidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Austral Pygmy OwlGlaucidium nana (P. P. King, 1827) | StrigidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Subtropical Pygmy OwlGlaucidium parkeri Robbins & S. N. G. Howell, 1995 | StrigidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Eurasian Pygmy OwlGlaucidium passerinum (Linnaeus, 1758) | StrigidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Strix brasiliana J. F. Gmelin, 1788 J. F. Gmelin, 1788 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
North America
South America
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=177908 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3G63J. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.