Glaucidium californicum
Silhouette: Edwin Price · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The northern pygmy owl (Glaucidium gnoma) is a small owl native to western North America. Seven subspecies are accepted, of which three have sometimes been treated as separate species. The northern pygmy owl was formally described in 1832 by the German naturalist Johann Georg Wagler under the current binomial name Glaucidium gnoma based on a specimen collected in Mexico. The specific epithet is from modern Latin gnomus meaning "gnome", "dwarf" or "pygmy". Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Redwood National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Yosemite National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Olympic National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Zion National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Grand Canyon National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Pacific Rim National Park Reserve | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 8 | Rocky Mountain National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Jasper National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 10 | Yellowstone National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 11 | Glacier National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 12 | Great Bear Rainforest | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 13 | Grand Teton National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 14 | Banff National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portland | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Pygmy-Owl sighting in Yosemite National Park on a given day, based on 122 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 112th most-seen of the 169 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February and November–December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Pygmy-Owl in Yosemite National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January and March–October, the lowest months. Those are among Yosemite National Park's wettest months, with about 150 mm of rain a month against 25 mm in September.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Northern Pygmy-Owl sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 14 parks where we can rate Northern Pygmy-Owl sightings, Yosemite National Park ranks 3rd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Redwood National Park (United States, under 5%) and Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks (United States, under 5%).
Same family: Strigidae
The closest relatives of the Northern Pygmy-Owl that you can see in Yosemite National Park (family Strigidae, Typical Owls) are Great Gray Owl (about 10%) and Spotted Owl (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Northern Pygmy-Owl is recorded against all the birds logged in Yosemite National Park (122 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
