Data Zone
Justification of Red List category
This species is known from few localities within a small range. Large tracts of pristine habitat remain in remote, inaccessible areas, and the species is currently not thought to be under imminent risk. Due to its small population size, it is considered Vulnerable.
Population justification
The population is assumed to be very small, based on a paucity of records since its discovery in 1976, within its extremely small range. It is placed in the band 250-999 mature individuals here, equivalent to 375-1,499 individuals in total, rounded here to 350-1,500 individuals.
Trend justification
The population trend has not been estimated directly. The only threat known to the species is the loss and degradation of its habitat. Forest loss within the range has been negligible over the past ten years (Lane and Angulo 2018, Global Forest Watch 2020), and the species is currently not thought to be under threat (Lane and Angulo 208). Therefore, in the absence of evidence for any declines, the species is assessed as stable.
This species is endemic to northern Peru. From discovery in 1976 to the early 2000s, the species had been observed only twice and its life history had been almost unknown. It was discovered in the Garcia area north-east of Abra Patricia, San Martín, and was subsequently collected east of Bagua, Amazonas, in the Cordillera de Colán (O'Neill and Graves 1977, Fjeldså and Krabbe 1990). In total, five specimens could be collected (O'Neill and Graves 1977, J. Hornbuckle in litt. 1999). In 2002, the territorial call was confirmed and recorded at the type-locality in the Abra Patricia area (D. Lane in litt. 2003, 2007). In 2007 it was seen in the wild for the first time, at Abra Patricia, when birds were seen three times in daylight hours, and an individual was also captured in a mist-net (Anon. 2007). Acquisition of the recording has allowed more thorough searches to take place (D. Lane in litt. 2003, 2007, Lane and Angulo 2018), and one bird was seen at the Lechucita Bigotona Lodge, Abra Patricia, in 2008 in response to playback of the Lane recording (F. Lambert in litt. 2008). In January the 2010, one bird was observed and at least five heard in a primate reserve near the village of La Esperanza some 15 km west of Abra Patricia (S. Alterman, N. Shanee and E. Fonseca in litt. 2010), a site at which it has been recorded several times since. Two further sites have been located since then, both in Amazonas: the Hierba Buena-Allpayacu Private Conservation Area near Corosha, and a location near the town of Yambrasbamba (F. Angulo Pratolongo in litt. 2012). In the past decade, the species has been found regularly in the field and is now known from at least 11 localities in the San Martín and Amazonas departments (Lane and Angulo 2018). Near Abra Patricia, the species was found to occur at relatively high densities (F. Angulo Pratolongo in litt. 2020). It appears to be both difficult to catch and reluctant to respond to playback, but may prove to be more widespread (D. Lane in litt. 2003, 2007; Lane and Angulo 2018).
It apparently inhabits the understorey and mid-storey of very wet elfin forest and tall forest at 1,900-2,600 m (but potentially heard down to 1,800 m), with abundant epiphytes, bamboo thickets and scattered palms and tree ferns (O'Neill and Graves 1977, Fjeldså and Krabbe 1990, Cardiff and Remsen 1995, D. Lane in litt. 2003, 2007, Schulenberg et al. 2007, F. Angulo Pratolongo in litt. 2020). If local reports of the species in elfin forest at Wichim are confirmed, it also occurs below 1,200 m. It is conjectured that the species could be almost flightless (Fjeldså and Krabbe 1990).
Remaining areas of suitable habitat are being cleared for timber, agriculture and to secure ownership of the land, gradually around Abra Patricia, but more rapidly in the Cordillera de Colán (Davies et al. 1997, J. Hornbuckle in litt. 1999). Mining activities around Yambrasbamba also contribute to habitat destruction, both directly and by opening new roads that facilitate colonisation (F. Angulo Pratolongo in litt. 2012). Habitat loss within the range has however been negligible over the past ten years, not causing any population declines (Lane and Angulo 2018). Large tracts of pristine habitat remain, which are within the territory of a population of the Aguaruna indigenous community and difficult to access (Lane and Angulo 2018). A potential threat to the species is the disturbance by birdwatchers using playback and flash photography (J. Altamirano Guerrero in litt. 2020).
Conservation Actions Underway
CITES Appendix II. It is considered Vulnerable at the national level in Peru (SERFOR 2018). It occurs in the Alto Mayo Protected Forest, San Martín, and in the private protected areas of Copallin, Hierba Buena-Allpayacu and Abra Patricia-Alto Nieva (Lane and Angulo 2018). New private protected areas are being established in the communities of Yambrashamba and Pomacochas (J. Altamirano Guerrero in litt. 2020). In any case, the protected status appears to have had little or no effect on the rate of deforestation. Recent records come from the Abra Patricia-Alto Nieva Private Conservation Area, a recently protected private conservation area (Anon. 2007), and the Hierba Buena-Allpayacu Private Conservation Area near Corosha (F. Angulo Pratolongo in litt. 2012). The diet of the species was investigated near the Yamrbrashamba community in 2014-2016 (J. Altamirano Guerrero in litt. 2020).
13-14 cm. Tiny, short-tailed owl, without occipital face. Long whiskers at bill base and face sides. Warm brown plumage, vermiculated darker. Prominent yellowish-white eyebrows. Bare tarsi and toes. Voice Single deep, husky almost disyllabic woh, one per 3 seconds.
Text account compilers
Hermes, C.
Contributors
Altamirano Guerrero, J., Alterman, S., Angulo Pratolongo, F., Benstead, P., Capper, D., Fonseca, E., Hornbuckle, J., Isherwood, I., Khwaja, N., Lambert, F., Lane, D., Shanee, N., Sharpe, C.J., Stuart, T. & Symes, A.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Long-whiskered Owlet Xenoglaux loweryi. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/long-whiskered-owlet-xenoglaux-loweryi on 23/11/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 23/11/2024.