PNW's tiny pygmy owls are adorable little murder machines

A northern pygmy owl weighs about as much as a chicken egg. They’re adorable, with big yellow eyes. They’re also ruthless predators known to kill chickens far heavier than themselves.

Don’t let the cute face fool you.

These pint-sized predators stand roughly 6 to 7 inches tall, weigh between 2.1 and 2.5 ounces and have a wingspan of about 15 inches. They look like someone shrunk a full-sized owl in the dryer.

Last September, wildlife photographer Toshan Wijeratne got a front-row seat to just how formidable these hunters can be.

He was hiking with a friend in Oregon’s Siuslaw National Forest when they spotted a northern pygmy owl perched near the top of a tall pine tree.

The bird was too far away for the photograph Wijeratne wanted. So they waited.

About an hour later, the owl disappeared.

But instead of packing up, Wijeratne stuck around. He knew the area was good hunting territory.

His patience paid off.

The owl reappeared, plunged into the brush and emerged moments later carrying a northern alligator lizard in its talons.

And not some puny lizard, either.

Northern alligator lizards can grow 10 to 11 inches long, much of that length consisting of a slender tail. They get their name from their rough scales, reinforced with bone much like an alligator’s.

The lizard looked enormous dangling beneath the owl.

Wijeratne got his photograph.

Small bird. Big appetite.

Lizards are just one item on a northern pygmy owl’s surprisingly extensive menu.

Their diet includes mice, voles, shrews, chipmunks, beetles, crickets and all sorts of birds, including hummingbirds, chickadees and sparrows.

And they aren’t particularly intimidated by prey larger than themselves.

Northern pygmy owls have been documented killing northern flickers, quail and even young chickens. Some of those birds weigh several times as much as the owl itself.

Most owls are nocturnal hunters, using soft, fringed wing feathers to muffle the sound of their flight as they swoop down on unsuspecting prey under cover of darkness.

Not northern pygmy owls. They do their killing shamelessly in broad daylight, for all the world to see.

A wonderful trait for wildlife photographers, who need all the light they can get to freeze the action.

The owls often watch from an elevated perch, scanning the surroundings before making a sudden dive at prey below.

Many owls have prominent facial discs and asymmetrically positioned ears that help them locate prey by sound. Northern pygmy owls lack those pronounced features, relying more heavily on their eyesight.

They also have a peculiar habit of saving leftovers. When food is plentiful, they’ll stash extra prey in tree cavities or impale it on thorns. Where better to hide a snack than in a thicket of Himalayan blackberry bushes?

A bird weighing 2.5 ounces with a pantry.

Portland researchers discovered their menu keeps changing

Scientists studying northern pygmy owls in Portland’s Forest Park discovered that what’s for dinner can change dramatically from one year to the next.

John F. Deshler, then with the Portland Water Bureau, and Michael T. Murphy of Portland State University examined the owls’ breeding biology from 2007-09.

In 2007 and 2009, birds were the main course.

But in 2008, small mammals dominated the menu.

The researchers also examined how changing food supplies related to breeding dates and reproductive success.

The study, published in the scientific journal The Condor in 2012, offered a rare glimpse into the lives of a species that’s relatively widespread but surprisingly difficult to study.

Northern pygmy owls have another unusual feature.

Look at the back of one’s head, and you’ll find two dark spots surrounded by lighter feathers. They resemble a second pair of eyes.

They’re false eyes, of course, but researchers suspect the markings may help discourage other birds or predators from sneaking up behind them.

Northern pygmy owls have their own enemies.

Larger owls, hawks and other predators can turn these hunters into somebody else’s lunch.

And songbirds aren’t always willing to put up with them, either.

Chickadees, nuthatches, wrens and other birds sometimes gather around a perched pygmy owl, scolding and harassing it in an attempt to drive it away.

It’s called mobbing.

Imagine a group of potential appetizers getting together to chase the chef out of the kitchen.

For birdwatchers, that commotion can be a useful clue. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology recommends listening for the agitated calls of songbirds or the owl’s own series of high-pitched toots.

Follow the noise, and you might find yourself face to face with one of Oregon’s smallest predators.

They’re not particularly rare

Despite being difficult to spot, northern pygmy owls aren’t considered particularly rare in Oregon.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife describes them as fairly common throughout the state’s forested mountains, including the Coast Range, Cascades, Klamath Mountains and Blue Mountains.

Their coloring – ranging from dark brown in coastal forests to gray in eastern Oregon – helps them blend into the landscape.

And when people do spot one, they don’t always know what they’re looking at.

In a report published in January 2024, Oregon State Police described a call about an injured baby owl near Shady Cove in southern Oregon.

Except it wasn’t a baby.

It was a fully grown northern pygmy owl, barely larger than an orange. The bird appeared to have an injured wing and was taken to a wildlife rehabilitation center.

Even the responding trooper said he’d never encountered one in person before.

How many are out there?

Nobody knows exactly.

Their camouflage and secretive habits make northern pygmy owls notoriously difficult to count.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology cites an estimate of about 180,000 breeding birds across their range, stretching from southeastern Alaska and western Canada through the western United States, Mexico and into Central America.

Though the estimate is uncertain, the species is considered of low conservation concern.

Like many forest animals, they depend on having the right habitat. Northern pygmy owls don’t build their own nests. They move into existing tree cavities, often excavated by woodpeckers. Standing dead trees, known as snags, provide valuable nesting sites. Remove those trees, and the owls lose places to raise their young.

Perhaps their greatest trick is the illusion of innocence.

Those enormous yellow eyes. That round little face. A few ounces of fluff. It looks like a baby owl character from a Pixar movie you’d want to scoop into the palm of your hand and pet. It even has a second pair of adorable fake eyes on the back of its head.

That’s what they want you to think.

Somewhere in Oregon’s forests, perhaps just beyond someone’s backyard, one of these tiny predators is perched quietly in a tree, watching for its next meal — possibly something three times its weight.

Keep your eyes peeled. You might spot one of Oregon’s most adorable, underappreciated micro murder machines.

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