FAMILY STRIGIDAE 1 67 



GLAUCIDIUM MINUTISSIMUM RARUM Griscom: 

 Least Pygmy Owl; Buhito Enano 



Figure 26 



Glaucidium minutissimum rarum Griscom, Proc. New England Zool. Club, vol. 

 12, May 19, 1931, p. 41. (Perme, San Bias, Panama.) 



Similar to the mountain pygmy owl but slightly smaller, with back 

 and sides plain (without light bands), and only 3 exposed white bars 

 on the tail. 



Description. — Length 140-145 mm. Adult (sexes alike), head and 

 hindneck dark brownish gray, with small dots of white edged nar- 

 rowly with black; a partly concealed band of white and buff across 

 the lower margin of the hindneck, terminating on either side in a 

 small black eye-shaped spot ; back and wings dark warm brown ; a few 

 small spots of buff and white on the wing coverts, and other larger 

 ones concealed in the scapulars ; primaries and secondaries with outer 

 webs barred and spotted with buff; tail black, with 3 broken bars and 

 a narrow tip of white; superciliary white; sides of head dark brown- 

 ish gray, with indefinite white tips and bases ; throat white, with this 

 color extended on either side to beneath the auricular region ; a some- 

 what broken band of mixed brown and black across upper f oreneck ; 

 lower foreneck, a broad, longitudinal line down center of breast, and 

 the abdomen pure white ; sides broadly russet-brown, this color lined 

 irregularly with white as it spreads over the sides of the breast ; legs 

 dull buff ; under tail coverts white, with a few dusky brown lines ; 

 underside of tail white to pale buff, blotched with fuscous-brown ; 

 under surface of wings dull dark gray banded with buffy white. 



Immature, crown and hindneck brownish gray without spots. 



A male taken at the mouth of the Rio Tuquesa, Darien, April 1, 

 1959, had the iris bright yellow ; bill honey yellow, shaded with light 

 olive-gray on the sides of both upper and lower mandibles ; gape 

 bright yellow ; toes and bare distal end of tarsus yellow ; claws black. 



Another male, collected at the Peluca Hydrographic Station, 

 Panama, February 22, 1961, had the cere, tip of maxilla, and tip of 

 mandible dull honey yellow ; rest of bill dull greenish yellow ; toes 

 dull yellow. 



Measurements. — Males (3 from Panama), wing 88.7-90.5 (89.6), 

 tail 46.0-48.5 (47.5), oilmen from cere 10.5-11.3 (11.0), tarsus 

 18.0-18.8 (18.5) mm. 



Female (1 from Colombia), wing 93.4, tail 43.5, culmen from cere 

 11.2, tarsus 18 mm. 



Resident. Rare, in heavy forests of the Tropical Zone. Recorded 



