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Articles

Vol. 52 No. 2 (2021)

FIRST SPECIMEN OF THE NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL FROM BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO, WITH DATA ON ITS ABUNDANCE IN THE SIERRA SAN PEDRO MÁRTIR

Submitted
September 14, 2025
Published
April 1, 2021

Abstract

 During surveys (January 2018–November 2020) for the Northern Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus) in the Parque Nacional Sierra de San Pedro Mártir, Gaona-Melo collected one individual of this species at the site known as La Capilla (31.011 ° N,–115.534 ° W, elevation 2336 meters above sea level) on 18 June 2020 (Figure 1). The specimen, a juvenile male measuring 190 mm in total length, 430 mm in wing span, 140 mm in wing chord, 76 g in weight (Figure 2), was taken by mist net at 21:36 during sampling for nocturnal raptors in a riparian stand of Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides) adjacent to mixed coniferous forest comprising Jeffrey Pine (Pinus jeffreyi), White Fir (Abies concolor), and Sugar Pine (Pinus lambertiana). The right testis measured 3.1 × 1.8 mm, the left 3.4 × 1.4 mm. This individual represents the first known specimen of this species in Baja California (Anthony 1893, Grinnell 1928, Wilbur 1987, Erickson et al. 2020). Furthermore, the age of the bird strongly suggests local nesting, being the first such evidence for Baja California

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