Hot News for Psiloscops flammeolus!
January 19, 2025



Want to know who is the Most Flamboyant Owl in North America? Just ask the Academy. They gave the Most Flamboyant Owl award this year to yours truly, The Flammulated Owl, alias Psiloscops flammeolus!

What? Don't tell me you didn't see the North American Owl Awards this year!

Well, better later than never. Check out the North American Owl Awards ceremony, live from Zimman Field at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts!

When You're Hot, You're Hot
November 30, 2024



Flaming Jenkin here, all fired up and ready to ignite your interest in Psiloscops flammeolus, the Flammulated Owl. "Flammulated," of course, comes from the Latin word for flame-colored, referring to my reddish-brown feathers¹. Our flame-colored feathers contrast with our gray ones to produce some very unique-looking individuals in our species. Check out a variety of F.O. pics online to see whereof I speak². It's kind of like we Flammulated Owls were originally gray owls, but then we were left out in the rain too long and we started to rust in various places. Depending upon where those places are, we can look funny, flustered, or even ferocious. To paraphrase the Lloyd Price classic, "We've got personality!"

This is good news for you strigophiles because we cannot be easily confused with the other smallish owls that share parts of our far-flung territory (from Mexico to British Columbia), like the Elf Owl and the Northern Pygmy Owl, aka the Mountain Owl. We are all pretty darn small. Depending upon whom you ask, I personally am the size of a soda can³, a smartphone⁴, or a vinegaroon⁵, whatever that is. But one look at our coloration, and you'll know whether you're dealing with a Flammulated Owl or not.

Even our calls set us apart from our fellow pipsqueaks. Those other two have high-pitched toots and trills, whereas my vocal range extends to bass notes. The Owl Research Institute explains as follows:

"Unique vocal anatomy of the Flammulated Owl produces a call unlike that of other small owls. The call of this species is hoarse, with low-frequency notes that produce sounds similar to the calls of large owls.⁶"

But just because we are easy to tell apart by voice does not mean that we are easy to find. To the contrary, we are so hard to find, that we were once considered a rare species in North America. It turns out we are not rare at all, it's just that you guys cannot find us. In the words of the American Bird Conservancy:

"Once considered rare, Flammulated Owls are actually common in scattered locations across their range. However, they can be hard to detect and are most reliably identified by their voice.⁷"

But hearing us is easier than seeing us. I am a ventriloquist after all. I can throw my voice. So actually finding me can be quite difficult! My call will be ricocheting around the forest, and you'll be like: "What, am I in a funhouse here or something?!"

But I'll give you a tip: Keep looking up. Our nest cavities are 16 feet off the ground, on average⁸. They have to be for the safety of our chicks. We owls have enemies, after all. Heaven forbid that our nest should be ransacked by a fox, or a mountain lion, or a snake.

Oh, dear, look at the calendar! It's getting late. I'd better be going, I'm afraid. I am a migratory species after all⁹. I may breed in the States but I spend my winters south of the border, in Southern Mexico and Central America. Hey, Some like it hot, right?

So until next time, Flaming Jenkin is the name, Flammulated Screech Owl is the game!

(singing) Me mind on fire -- Me soul on fire -- Feeling hot hot hot...

Editor's Note: A song? Really? You give some owls a blog and it goes to their head!

Oh, and for the sake of precision, I should add that the Cornell Labs website puts the length of the Northern Pygmy Owl at anywhere between 5.9 and 6.7 inches, somewhere between the size of a sparrow and a robin.¹⁰


1: Otus flammeolus flammulated owl, Animal Diversity Web
2: Flammulated Owl - Psiloscops flammeolus, Cornell Lab eBird
3: Exploring the World of the Flammulated Owl with Birdorable, Birdorable
4: Flammulated Owling, Pitta Nature Tours
5: Flammulated Owl : A to Z Guide, Owl Pond
6: Flammulated Owl: Psiloscops flammeolus, Owl Research Institute
7: Flammulated Owl, American Bird Conservancy
8: Where do Flammulated Owls nest?, Birdful.org
9: Unmasking the Long-distance Migration of Flammulated Owls, Bird Conservancy of the Rockies
10: Flammulated Owl Identification, Cornell Lab: All About Birds