GAP Analysis Predicted Distribution Map

Flammulated Owl (Otus flammeolus)

Species Code: OTFL

This is an "at risk" species

Legend:
= Core Habitat
= Marginal Habitat

Breeding Range Map
The green area shows the predicted habitats for breeding only. The habitats were identified using 1991 satellite imagery, Breeding Bird Atlas (BBA), other datasets and experts throughout the state, as part of the Washington Gap Analysis Project. Habitats used during non-breeding months and migratory rest-stops were not mapped.

Metadata (Data about data or how the map was made)

Click to enlarge distribution map

Other maps & Information:

Breeding Bird Atlas
NatureMapping observations
during breeding season
NatureMapping observations
throughout the year

This species is uncommon and local in mature forests consisting chiefly of Ponderosa Pine and Douglas-fir in eastern Washington. Many stands, which are apparently suitable, do not appear to be occupied by Flammulated Owls.

The core areas of use were all Grand Fir, Interior Douglas-fir, Oak, and Ponderosa Pine zones. In the Ponderosa Pine zone, all conifer forests and tree savanna were good habitats. In the other zones, closed conifer forest was excluded. Though this bird is closely associated with the Ponderosa Pine zone, Ponderosa Pine is an early-seral species in the Grand Fir and Interior Douglas-fir zones and is a common codominant of open forests in the Oak zone.

Birds nesting in Washington represent the dominant northern subspecies O. f. flammeolus. The Flammulated Owl has a fairly narrow ecological niche, mostly limited to lower-elevation Douglas-fir and Ponderosa Pine forests. Such forests occur in eastern Washington along the lower slopes of the Cascades, in the northeast, and in the Blue Mountains. The Flammulated Owl is a highly migratory species, with most individuals wintering from central Mexico south, and rarely in the southern United States. A nest was reported in British ColumbiaÕs Okanagan valley in a nest box. This speciesÕ food preference is for moths and beetles, which occur in large numbers in the open dry forests at lower elevations of eastern Washington. Since Flammulated Owls nest in tree cavities, old trees are necessary within occupied stands. There are no records from much of the modeled range, but we suspect that sampling has been inadequate.

Translated from the Washington Gap Analysis Bird Volume by Uchenna Bright
Text edited by Gussie Litwer
Webpage designed by Dave Lester