Costa Rican Pygmy-Owl

Glaucidium costaricanum

Small owl, active during the day and night. Very similar in plumage to other pygmy-owls, but limited range at high elevation (mostly above 1000m) is a good starting point. Overall brown to rufous with white stripes on belly; look for small white spots on crown and bars on flanks. Sexes alike. Found singly or in pairs in montane forests. Listen for whistled song of doubled notes given on an even pitch.

Taxonomy

Scientific name
Glaucidium costaricanum
Authority
Kelso, L, 1937
Order
Strigiformes
Family
Strigidae
Genus
Glaucidium

Range and habitat

Migration
Resident species

Conservation

Population trend
stable

Photos

Distribution

Bird Calls

Other Birds

Papuan Treecreeper

Papuan Treecreeper

Cormobates placens

A medium-sized creeping bird of montane forest. Mainly a dull, gray-brown color with pale flecks on the flanks, a paler throat. Female has a rufous moustache stripe. The only treecreeper on New Guinea. Climbs up a trunk, then flies down to the base of another trunk. Sometimes followed by a fantail. The only other similar colored birds with this behaviour are the sittellas, which are distinctively smaller and most have a streaked back. Call, a level series of piping notes which increase in volume.

Red-headed Flameback

Red-headed Flameback

Chrysocolaptes erythrocephalus

A rare large woodpecker of forest and edge, where at least some large trees remain, on Palawan and neighboring islands. Green on the back and wings, with dark underparts and neck heavily marked with a cream color. Crown slopes to an angular crest above a large black ear spot. Head is bright red in males and red with orange spots on the crown in females. Similar to Spot-throated Flameback, but Red-headed has a pale yellow bill and lacks the black-and-white stripes on the head. Voice includes a loud, metallic, stuttering staccato trill and loud nasal squeaking.

Stygian Owl

Stygian Owl

Asio stygius

Large, dark, eared owl with golden eyes. Favors pine and pine-oak forest, mainly in highlands. Roosts at middle to upper levels, at times on fairly open branches. Hunts in open forest and at edges. Note the whitish forehead blaze and streaked underparts. Slightly smaller and less bulky than Great Horned Owl, which has barred underparts. Call is a very deep single hoot, repeated at intervals.

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