Although the Flammulated Owl (Otus flammeolus) is found in western North America from Guatemala to Canada (AOU 1957), Reilly (1968) and Winter (1974) concur that little is known concerning the biology of this small, inconspicuous bird. Henry Henshaw suggested that the paucity of information regarding this small owl of montane forests may be due to its secretive behavior rather than actual rarity (Oberholser 1899). In fact, trained observers have recently discovered it to be locally common in some areas (Winter 1971).
During a study of the impact of pesticides on breeding birds in the Pike National Forest, Colorado, we located three Flammulated Owl nests. The nests were all found in 1971 within 6.4 km of each other, about 13 km north and northwest of Divide, Teller County, Colorado. One nest produced two young birds which were orphaned, removed from the nest and raised in captivity. Each of the other two nests fledged three young. Because they were obtained in research incidental to other work, our data on nesting, growth and development of wild and captive nestlings are not extensive.