Habitat selection by the Ferruginous Pigmy Owl (Glaucidium brasilianum) during the breeding season

Habitat selection has been recognised as a crucial process determining animal distribution, abundance, home range size and habitat use patterns at multiple spatial scales. Hence, information about habitat quality and selected habitat attributes, especially during the breeding season i.e., the most crucial period of a species’ biological cycle is necessary in order to understand the biological requirements of animals. Here, we present the first study of habitat selection by the Ferruginous Pigmy Owl (Glaucidium brasilianum) in South America. This small diurnal raptor occupies a wide variety of ecosystem from semiarid desert scrub to lush tropical rain forest but, up to date, no information is available about what habitat attributes determines its spatial distribution in a xerophytic forest of Prosopis caldenia that is, typical in Espinal biome in the semiarid pampas of Argentina. Habitat selection was tested comparing habitat characteristics (i.e. habitat structure) and food availability in sites used by the animals and in unused, but available, sites. Our findings showed that at stand spatial scale, no evident habitat selection was performed by the ferruginous pigmy owl during the breeding season, suggesting the high density of the species should be related to the favourable environmental condition faced in our study area. The present study provides base information for future ongoing research on such opportunistic predator.