About Glaucidium griseiceps Sharpe, 1875
The Central American pygmy owl (Glaucidium griseiceps Sharpe, 1875) measures 13 to 18 cm (5.1 to 7.1 in) in total length. Males weigh 50.6 to 58.8 g (1.78 to 2.07 oz), while females weigh approximately 56 g (2.0 oz). Adult individuals have grayish brown crown and nape; the crown bears buff to whitish spots, and the nape has dark "false eyes". Their upperparts and tail are rich brown, with pale bars running across the tail. Their underparts are whitish, marked with reddish brown streaks. Juveniles have gray crown and nape; the juvenile crown has no spots, and the nape's false eyes are sooty in color. The species is distributed from Veracruz, Oaxaca, and Chiapas in southern Mexico, through Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Panama, reaching into northwestern Colombia, with a gap in its range across central Nicaragua. A separate disjunct population occurs in far northwestern Ecuador. It inhabits humid tropical evergreen lowland and foothill forest, secondary forest, semi-open areas, and mature cacao plantations. Its elevation range varies by region: from sea level to 1,200 m (3,900 ft) in Mexico and Honduras, up to 1,300 m (4,300 ft) in Guatemala, and up to 800 m (2,600 ft) in Costa Rica. In Ecuador, the species is only known to occur between 200 and 600 m (660 and 1,970 ft) elevation.
