Pernambuco pygmy owl

The Pernambuco pygmy owl (Glaucidium mooreorum) is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. This species, first described in 2002, is endemic to Pernambuco state in Brazil.^[4]

The Pernambuco pygmy owl was first described in December 2002 when two study skins were examined. The skins were originally collected in 1980 and thought to be subspecies of the East Brazilian pygmy owl (Glaucidium minutissimum) or Amazonian pygmy owl (G. hardyi). Upon closer examination of the skins, and vocalizations of the species recorded in 1990, it was concluded that it was a new species.^[3][5]

It was suggested that the type specimen of the East Brazilian pygmy owl is actually of this species, which if true would require that Pernambuco pygmy owl have the binomial G. minutissimum and that the East Brazilian pygmy owl be assigned a new binomial, G. sicki. The suggestion was rejected by the major avian taxonomic systems.^[6][4][7][8]

The Pernambuco pygmy owl is about 13 cm (5.1 in) long and weighs about 51 g (1.8 oz). The adult's face is a mix of whitish and brownish streaks and the rest of the head is raw umber with small white dots. The upperparts are chestnut and the tail is blackish brown with lines of white spots making broken bars across it. The underparts are white, the sides of the chest brown, and the flanks streaked with brown. The juvenile plumage is unknown.^[5]

A typical Neotropical pygmy-owl of the Glaucidium minutissimum species complex. It has a light grey-chestnut coloured crown and head speckled with conspicuous white spots on the face and head to the lower nape (Fjeldså and Sharpe 2015). Has a white collar and white underparts streaked with rufous. Back is chestnut. Tail dark with white spots. Similar spp. it differs from its geographically closest relatives in its overall lighter colouration, size and voice. Voice a short phrase of 5-7 notes.

The Pernambuco pygmy owl is found only in a small area of Pernambuco state in northeastern Brazil. It has been observed in the canopy of humid forest near its edge at a maximum elevation of 150 m (490 ft) above sea level.^[5]

صنّف الاتحاد الدولي لحفظ الطبيعة بومة بيرنامبوكو القزمة ضمن الأنواع المهددة بالانقراض بشدة والمحتمل انقراضها . في البداية، لم يُصنّف هذا النوع ضمن الأنواع المحتملة الانقراض، ولكن دراسة أجريت عام ٢٠١٨، استندت إلى أنماط انقراض الطيور والتدمير شبه الكامل لموائلها، أوصت برفع تصنيف البومة إلى الأنواع المهددة بالانقراض بشدة والمحتمل انقراضها. وتمّ رفع التصنيف في العام التالي. ^{[ ٩ ] [ ١ ]}

لم يُرصد هذا النوع منذ عام 2001 على الرغم من عمليات البحث المكثفة والموجهة. ^{[ 5 ]} وإذا كان لا يزال موجودًا، فيُفترض أن لديه عددًا ضئيلاً ومتناقصًا ضمن نطاق جغرافي ضيق للغاية. ويُقدّر عدد الطيور البالغة المتبقية بأقل من خمسين طائرًا. ^{[ 1 ]}