Lightning predator: the Ferruginous Pygmy Owl snatches flower-visiting hummingbirds in southwestern Brazil

Abstract

Abstract Pygmy owls of the genus Glaucidium prey on large insect and small vertebrates, mostly birds. Among the birds preyed on by pygmy owls are hummingbirds, caught mostly while mobbing these owlets or when still at nestling stage. I report here on the Ferruginous Pygmy Owl (Glaucidium brasilianum) snatching flower-visiting hummingbirds in an orchard at a farm in southwestern Brazil. I recorded one White-tailed Goldenthroat (Polytmus guainumbi) and three Gilded Hummingbirds (Hylocharis chrysura) preyed on by this owlet on three consecutive days. The large concentration of flowers and, consequently, of hummingbirds in the orchard likely contributed to the hunting success of the owlet on such fleeting and quickly moving prey. The role this pygmy owl plays on predation of adult hummingbirds in the Neotropics merits closer consideration.