• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Range map
• Resources

Taxonomic note
Glaucidium brasilianum and G. tucumanum (del Hoyo and Collar 2014) were previously lumped as G. brasilianum following Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993); now lumped again as G. brasilianum following a recent re-evaluation by SACC which raises considerable doubts about the purported genetic and vocal differences of tucumanum. Thought to be closest to G. peruanum and G. nana. Has been considered to include those as subspecies, but recent studies have shown all to be vocally distinct and to differ in DNA. In the past treated as conspecific with G. jardinii, but again differs in vocalizations and DNA. N populations (cactorum, intermedium, ridgwayi) recently proposed as forming a separate species (G. ridgwayi); treatment as such (König and Weick 2008, König et al. 1999) based on “DNA evidence and vocalisations”, but account of song reports it as “similar… but… slower” at 2.5–3 vs 3 notes per second, suggesting that distinction very slight. Birds from S Mexico (Chiapas) and Guatemala sometimes separated as subspecies saturatum. Subspecies ucayalae also suggested as possibly a separate species, differing genetically and vocally (König et al. 1999); more study required. Form intermedium often synonymized with cactorum, but probably worthy of recognition (Proudfoot and Johnson 2000). Subspecies pallens perhaps synonym of tucumanum; placement of medianum, phaloenoides and duidae with present species has also been questioned (König et al. 1999, Mikkola 2012). Thirteen subspecies recognized.

Taxonomic source(s)
Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International. 2022. Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 7. Available at: https://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v7_Dec22.zip.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2022	Least Concern
2016	Not Recognised
2014	Not Recognised
2012	Least Concern
2009	Least Concern
2008	Least Concern
2004	Least Concern
2000	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

Migratory status	full migrant	Forest dependency	medium
Land-mass type		Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	28,000,000 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	20000000 mature individuals	poor	inferred	2020
Population trend	decreasing	-	suspected	2016-2026
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	1-9%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	1-9%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	1-9%	-	-	-
Generation length	3.05 years	-	-	-

Population justification: The global population numbers 20,000,000 mature individuals (Partners in Flight 2020).

Trend justification: The population is suspected to be in slow decline (Partners in Flight 2020), which is thought to be caused by low levels of habitat loss within the range (Proudfoot et al. 2020). Tree cover within the range is lost at c.7% over ten years (Global Forest Watch 2021, using Hansen et al. [2013] data and methods disclosed therein). As the species is not strictly forest-dependent but also occurs in shrubby and open habitats (Proudfoot et al. 2020), population declines are unlikely to exceed 10% over ten years.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Argentina	extant	native	yes
Belize	extant	native	yes
Bolivia	extant	native	yes
Brazil	extant	native	yes
Colombia	extant	native	yes
Costa Rica	extant	native	yes
Ecuador	extant	native	yes
El Salvador	extant	native	yes
French Guiana	extant	native	yes
Guatemala	extant	native	yes
Guyana	extant	native	yes
Honduras	extant	native	yes
Mexico	extant	native	yes
Nicaragua	extant	native	yes
Panama	extant	native	yes
Paraguay	extant	native	yes
Peru	extant	native	yes
Suriname	extant	native	yes
Trinidad and Tobago	extant	native	yes
Uruguay	extant	native	yes
USA	extant	native	yes
Venezuela	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Subtropical/Tropical Heavily Degraded Former Forest	suitable	non-breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Subtropical/Tropical Heavily Degraded Former Forest	suitable	breeding
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	suitable	non-breeding
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	suitable	breeding
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland	suitable	non-breeding
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland	suitable	breeding
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	major	non-breeding
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	major	breeding
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude	suitable	non-breeding
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude	suitable	breeding
Altitude	0 - 2480 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Species mortality
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (large scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion

Purpose	Scale
Pets/display animals, horticulture	national, international

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Species factsheet: Ferruginous Pygmy-owl Glaucidium brasilianum. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/ferruginous-pygmy-owl-glaucidium-brasilianum on 15/01/2025.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2025) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 15/01/2025.