Cactus ferruginous pygmy-owl, Glaucidium brasilianum cactorum gallery

Cactus Ferruginous Pygmy-owl (Glaucidium brasilianum cactorum) photos. These photos are by Aaron Flesch (contact) and Sky Jacobs (contact). If you would like to use them, please contact one of us.

The CFPO is a small owl (6.5 inches) that reaches the northern end of it's range in a small part of southern AZ west of Tucson. Historically in AZ the CFPO inhabited areas from the Phoenix area south and west, and from Tucson in the east to well beyond Ajo in the west. As of 2026 they are mostly extirpated from the state outside of the Tohono O'odham Nation and the Altar Valley southwest of Tucson. In recent years they have also been absent from Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and Cabeza Prieta. It ranges through parts of the lower elevations of Sonora, but is highly localized to specific habitats, some of which have seen degradation.