This page is dedicated to the Gnome Owl MEASUREMENTS The Northern Pygmy Owl has a body length of 7 8 inches a wingspan of 15 16 inches and weighs about 2 2 1 2 ounces HABITAT This owl can be found at forest edges near meadows lakes coastline and forest clearings in deciduous and coniferous forests of western North and Central America DIET The main diet of the Northern Pygmy Owl is small birds and rodents and large insects Occasionally they will eat reptiles and amphibians Pygmy owls are diurnal active during the day and crepuscular active at dusk and dawn hunters This owl will search for prey from a perch pouncing upon it from a close distance when prey is found REPRODUCTION The Northern Pygmy Owl nests in tree cavities The female usually lays 3 5 eggs Unlike most owls which start incubating the eggs soon after the first eggs are laid the pygmy owl does not start incubation until all the eggs have been laid In about 29 days all the chicks hatch within a short time of each other The young owlets fledge at 30 days and are independent of parental care 20 30 days later The young owls become sexually mature in less than a year NAME DERIVATION The scientific name comes from the Greek words glaux indicating a little owl glaukidion meaning to gleam or glare and may refer to the eyes of the owl and gnoma referring to knowledge reasoning or an opinion The common name indicates the size of the bird and its northern range This owl has also been called a Gnome Owl INTERESTING FACTS Unlike hawks falcons and eagles owls do not have an expandable part of the esophagus called a crop to store extra food Therefore owls like pygmy owls will cache the remainder of their food in a hiding place and eat it later This is especially important for small high energy species that must eat frequently Since pygmy owls are active during daylight they rely on their sense of sight to hunt Consequently this owl did not develop a good sense of hearing silent flight nor exceptional night vision like nocturnal owls