The long-whiskered owlet (''Xenoglaux loweryi'') is a tiny

owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...

that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to a small area in the

Andean The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the List of mountain ranges#Mountain ranges by length, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range i ...

mountains in Amazonas and

San Martín San Martín or San Martin may refer to: People Saints * Saint Martin (disambiguation)#People, name of various saints in Spanish Political leaders *Vicente San Martin (1839 -1901), Military, National hero of Mexico. *Basilio San Martin (1849 ...

in northern

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

. It is restricted to

cloud forests A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud ...

with dense undergrowth and

epiphyte An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...

s at about

asl American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States of America and most of Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that is express ...

. The long-whiskered owlet is mainly brown with a whitish belly and eyebrow. The large eyes are orange-brown. Although it has no ear tufts, this small owl's facial feathers extend out past its head, making it appear to have long tufts. The name of its

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

''Xenoglaux'' means "strange owl" and—among others—refers to these long facial feathers. With a total length of and a weight of about , it is among the smallest owls in the

world In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

. Only the heavier Tamaulipas pygmy owl and the lighter-weight

elf owl The elf owl (''Micrathene whitneyi'') is a small grayish-brown owl about the size of a sparrow found in the Southwestern United States, central Mexico, and the Baja California peninsula. It has pale yellow eyes highlighted by thin white "eyebrow ...

are of a similar diminutive length. It probably feeds on insects. Very little is known about this

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

. It has been captured in 1976 in

mist net Mist nets are used by hunters and poachers, but also by ornithologists and chiropterologists to capture wild birds and bats for banding or other research projects. Mist nets are typically made of nylon or polyester mesh suspended between two po ...

s on three occasions in San Martín. It had never been observed under normal circumstances until early 2007 when rangers and researchers working in the Area de Conservación Privada de Abra Patricia-Alto Nieva encountered it three times during daylight hours and recorded its calls during the night (

American Bird Conservancy American Bird Conservancy (ABC) is a non-profit membership organization with the mission of conserving wild birds and their habitats throughout the Americas. Its focus is on threats to birds in the Western Hemisphere – threats which include ov ...

, 2007). In addition to later records from the same general area, the long-whiskered owlet has been observed several times at La Esperanza in the Amazonas Department, where first discovered in January 2010. This locality also holds the critically endangered

yellow-tailed woolly monkey The yellow-tailed woolly monkey (''Lagothrix flavicauda'') is a New World monkey endemic to Peru. It is a rare primate species found only in the Peruvian Andes, in the departments of Amazonas and San Martin, as well as bordering areas of La L ...

. Due to its rarity, restricted habitat, and ongoing

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

within its tiny range, it is currently considered

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

. It is estimated that the total population is between 250 and 1000 individuals. The recently established Area de Conservación Privada Abra Patricia-Alto Nieva and the Area de Conservación Privada Copallín (ACP-Copallín) protect important sites for the owlet and other species restricted to this region, including Johnson's tody-tyrant, the royal sunangel, and the ochre-fronted antpitta. In La Esperanza, the creation of a community-run conservation area, supported by community-based tourism is intended to ensure the survival of this and other endemic species. A

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

study of the owls published in 2019 found that the long-whiskered owlet is a

sister species In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and t ...

to the North American

(''Micrathene whitneyi'').

References

BirdLife Species Factsheet
* Associated Press (AP) (2007)
Tiny Rare Owl Spotted in Peru Reserve
Version of 2007-MAR-27. Retrieved 2007-APR-01. *

(2007)
Long-whiskered Owlet puts on a show
Version of 2007-MAR-27. Retrieved 2007-APR-01. * Neotropical Primate Conservation (2010)
Long-Whiskered Owlet in La Esperanza
Version of 2010-FEB-4. Retrieved 2010-MAY-29. *Haaretz, (2010)
Night of the Lechusita
Version of 2010-APR-01. Retrieved 2010-MAY-29.

External links

Sound recordings of the voice of the Long-whiskered Owlet
xeno-canto.org {{Taxonbar, from=Q1265643

long-whiskered owlet The long-whiskered owlet (''Xenoglaux loweryi'') is a tiny owl that is endemic to a small area in the Andean mountains in Amazonas and San Martín in northern Peru. It is restricted to cloud forests with dense undergrowth and epiphytes at about ...

Birds of the Peruvian Andes Endemic birds of Peru