Scientific name: Aegolius ridgwayi

Name in English: Unspotted Saw-whet Owl

Common names in Spanish: Lechucita Parda, Lechucita de Alfaro, Mochuelo Moreno

Global distribution: from Mexico southern mountains to western Panama

Distribution in Costa Rica: highlands of Talamanca Mountain Range and Turrialba and Irazú Volcanoes  (from 2.500 m.s.n.m.)

GENERAL INFORMATION

HISTORY

Table 1
Records of the subspecies of Aegolius ridgwayi made for the first time in chronological order

MEASUREMENTS

Since this species has never been studied before we did not know what size bands should be used, but with the measurements we have made we were able to order the correct size bands for this species.

The bands have an email adress (uswocr@gmail.com) and a numeral series. The series for the males is M001-M100 and for the females H001-H100.

PLUMAGE

Head and upper region uniformly brown

Nape golden-brown

Facial disc border, supercilium and chin between white and buff

External primaries and alula with white  leading edge

Chest between cinnamon and brown

Buff belly

Iris between yellow and greenish yellow

Cere and bill mostly blackish with pale sides

Pinkish-yellow toes

Talons mostly black but some are pale pink

AGE

Age is determined by studying the molt cycle of the individual (the relative age of its flight feathers) and one of the techniques we use is to determine this is by looking at the feathers under ultraviolet light. 

New feathers have porphyrines which reflect UV light and makes them glow pink.  In older feathers the porphyrines have degraded due to exposition to sunlight and when UV light is cast upon them they look dark and opaque.  Immature individuals are the only ones going to have one generation of feathers and they will all appear an even pink under UV light.  Adults can have up to three generations of flight feathers.

DIET

Their diet is composed mainly of small rodents, shrews and large insects such as beatles and moths.  We have observed them catching rodents both on the ground and on tree trunks, while the insects were captured in mid-air and in all cases they used their talons. 

They tend to hunt from low perches, between 1-3 meters above the ground, from where they observe and listen carefully for their prey.

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Part of its diet has been discovered by the finding of pellets. Pellets are a mass of undigestible food parts that birds of prey regurgitate such as bones, hair and insect exoskeletons.

Pellet

Pellet dissection | Many skeleton parts of small rodents and beetle exoskeletons were found.

VOCALIZATION

The most commonly heard and recorded vocalizations are those of the males since in the majority of cases they occur in response to playback and it is generally the male who responds more aggressively in territorial defense.  However, we have recorded another nine different vocalizations from both sexes, noting the respective behavior involved with each type of call.

Male spectrogram

Female spectrogram

NESTING

All known nests except one have been in natural cavities such as knot holes or broken trunks and branches that have rotted out.  One nest in Guatemala was reported in an old artificial nesting box.  Nest height is anywhere between two and 15 meters above the ground.  The female lays two white, quite round eggs and she incubates them for 28 – 30 days.  During this period the male brings food to the female.  The time from hatching to fledging is still unknown.  As is the case with many Neotropical birds, nest predation seems to be high.

We use RECONYX camera traps for monitoring the nests, this way we interfere as little as possible on their behavior.

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The cameras' batteries and cards are changed when the owls are not present.

HOME RANGE

CONSERVATION STATUS

THE PROJECT

COLLABORATORS

© Photos & videos by Ernesto Carman, Pablo Siles, Diego Quesada and Marco Molina.