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

Taxonomic note
G. gnoma was previously split into four species; G. gnoma, G. californicum, G. cobanense and G. hoskinsii (del Hoyo and Collar 2014), separated on basis of vocalizations and/or DNA evidence. However, differences in vocalisations appear to be clinal (WGAC) and unpublished genetic data (R. Moyle, M. Robbins) are likely to show that all taxa are deeply embedded, so all four are now reunited in a single species. Previously G. californicum was split from a wider concept of G. gnoma (including cobanense and hoskinsii) following Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993). Perhaps closely related to G. costaricanum, which has recently been treated as conspecific with present species by some authors. Seven subspecies recognised.

Taxonomic source(s)
Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International. 2023. Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 8. Available at: https://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v8_Dec23.zip.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2023	Least Concern
2016	Not Recognised
2014	Not Recognised
2012	Least Concern
2009	Least Concern
2008	Least Concern
2004	Not Recognised
2000	Not Recognised
1994	Not Recognised
1988	Not Recognised

Migratory status	altitudinal migrant	Forest dependency	medium
Land-mass type		Average mass	62 g

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	9,350,000 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	180000 mature individuals	poor	estimated	2021
Population trend	increasing	-	inferred	-
Generation length	2.48 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	7	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	1-89%	-	-	-

Population justification: The global population is estimated at 180,000 mature individuals (Partners in Flight 2022).

Trend justification: In the U.S.A. and Canada, where 70% of the global population occurs, a slow population increase was observed over the last decades (Partners in Flight 2022). Even though local trends may differ, it is here assumed that the global population is undergoing a slow increase.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Canada	extant	native	yes
El Salvador	extant	native	yes
Guatemala	extant	native	yes
Honduras	extant	native	yes
Mexico	extant	native	yes
USA	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland	suitable	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane	suitable	resident
Forest	Temperate	suitable	resident
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical Moist	suitable	resident
Shrubland	Temperate	suitable	resident
Altitude	0 - 4000 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
		Unknown		Unknown		Negligible declines		Unknown
		Stresses Species mortality
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (large scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Species factsheet: Northern Pygmy-owl Glaucidium gnoma. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/northern-pygmy-owl-glaucidium-gnoma on 18/01/2025.
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 18/01/2025.