ANATOMY OF BIRDS
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION
MIGRATIONS OF BIRDS
CLASSIFICATION OF BIRDS
LIZARD-TAILED BIRD
AMERICAN TOOTHED-BIRDS
THE OSTRICHES
THE RHEAS
EMEUS AND CASSOWARIES
THE TINAMOUS
THE KIWIS
THE PENGUINS
LOONS AND GREBES
ALBATROSSES & PETRELS
STORK-LIKE BIRDS
GOOSE-LIKE BIRDS
FALCON-LIKE BIRDS
FOWL-LIKE BIRDS
CRANE-LIKE BIRDS
PLOVER-LIKE BIRDS
CUCKOO-LIKE BIRDS
THE ROLLER-LIKE BIRDS
SPARROW-LIKE BIRDS
Birds and Birding's Guide to:
Watching THE ROLLER-LIKE BIRDS
THE ROLLERS AND THEIR ALLIES
THE OWLS
California Pygmy Owl
But few of its nests have ever been discovered, and such as have fallen under scientific observation were usually placed in deserted Woodpeckers' holes. The California Pygmy Owl (G. g. californicum) is a darker-colored race, which is an inhabitant of, and breeds in, the timbered regions along the Pacific coast from middle California to Oregon and British Columbia; this form is replaced in the Cape region of Lower California by Hoskin's Pygmy Owl (G. hoskinsii), which is smaller and grayer, with the upper parts less distinctly spotted than the California bird. The only other species occurring in the United States, and this simply by virtue of crossing over the line in Texas and Arizona, is the Ferruginous Pygmy Owl (G. phalanoides), which may be distinguished by having the top of the head streaked, instead of spotted, with white.
Of the species belonging to the second section of the genus in which the upper surface is barred instead of spotted, we may mention the Large Pygmy Owl (G. cuculoides) of the Himalayas, the hills of central India, and the Burmese provinces. Of its habits Mr. Blanford says: “This is one of the least nocturnal of all Owls, and may often be seen in full sunlight, sometimes even at midday, sitting on trees or stumps, or moving about and feeding in shady gardens or jungle. It keeps to thin tree — or bamboo—jungle, or gardens, and feeds partly on insects, but also on small birds and mammals. Its cry is a peculiar cackle, like a laugh, called by Hume a 'chuckling, vibrating call.' The eggs, four in number, are deposited in a hollow or hole in a tree without any nest."
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