Birding

My Case for the Colima Pygmy-Owl

February 26, 2026 by Paul Lewis No Comments

My friend Jonathan Vargas and I recently had our fourth encounter with the Colima Pygmy-Owl just above the small Michoacán town of Copuyo. As always, we were surprised to see just how small this owl is, especially compared to our other two local Glaucidium species, the Northern or Mountain Pygmy-Owl, and the much more common Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl.

Northern Pygmy-Owl, 15-16.5 cm long, with a very long tail

Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, 16.5-19 cm long, with a streaked, not spotted, crown

But exactly how small is the Colima Pygmy-Owl? The Elf Owl, a species which can theoretically be seen in Michoacán but has not been registered here since 2008, is universally considered the world’s smallest owl. The nocturnal Elf Owl is between 12.5 and 14.5 cm long, and has an average weight of only 40 grams. (That’s 4.9-5.7 inches and 1.4 ounces. But I’ll stay metric from now on.) Most sources say that the next-smallest owls are Peru’s Long-whiskered Owlet and northeastern Mexico’s Tamaulipas Pygmy-Owl. The Long-whiskered Owlet is 13-14 cm long, and weighs an average of 48 gm. The Tamaulipas Pygmy-Owl is 13-16 cm long, and averages 53 gm.

Colima Pygmy-Owl, short tail and spotted crown

Sorry, my Tamaulipas birding friends. Our resident Colima Pygmy-Owls are 13-15 cm long, and weigh only 43-48 grams. So, unless some other owls are in the running without my knowing about it, that makes the Colima Pygmy-Owl the world’s third-smallest owl. Or, by weight, arguably the world’s second-smallest owl. Take that.

Any confusion as to this world-shaking issue is probably due to each of these species being very rare. EBird has a mere 395 reports that include the Tamaulipas Glaucidium. The Owlet, which is not a Glaucidium, has been recorded only 608 times. There are currently 4478 reports for the Colima species, but that still leaves it a difficult bird to find, considering its population is spread across twelve Mexican states. So far it has only been reported 20 times in Michoacán.

There is also only one site where this species has been seen more than once in our state, and that is precisely the road above Copuyo. I have gone seven times, and the tiny owl has turned up four of those times. This last time was the second time that a second owl, presumably its mate, also showed up, although only one gave us photos. That one was extremely calm in our presence. It clearly saw us, and yet it settled in, letting us take photo after photo. Eventually, it decided it was time to give its distinctive triiiill-toot-toot-toot call. While we watched.

It also displayed its impressive range of neck motion, and its false eyes on the back of its head. My wife would like some of those.

As well as its tiny size, we were both impressed with its disproportionately large feet. It seems that the owl species may shrink, but the claws remain the same. Since I also have disproportionately large feet, I find that quality very endearing.

As I researched this brief post, I found it interesting to learn that the Glaucidium Pygmy-Owls can be found on all continents except Australia and Antarctica. Still, unless someone can prove otherwise… My Pygmy-Owls are smaller than your Pygmy-Owls.

Written by Paul Lewis
Paul Lewis moved from California to Mexico in 1983. He lived first in Mexicali, and now lives in the historic city of Morelia (about halfway between Guadalajara and Mexico City), where he and his wife pastor a small church. He is the author of an internationally distributed book in Spanish about family finances and has recorded four albums in Spanish of his own songs. But every Monday, he explores the wonderful habitats and birds found within an hour of his house, in sites which go from 3,000 to 10,000 feet of altitude. These habitats include freshwater wetlands, savannah grasslands, and pine, oak, pine/oak, pine/fir, cloud, and tropical scrub forests.