Glaucidium perlatum
These tiny owls (75g weight, 30cm wingspan) are mainly nocturnal in habit (like most other owls), but are often also active during the day, especially in winter, and then its position is frequently given away by other birds mobbing it. It feeds primarily on a wide variety of invertebrates, but will also take small reptiles, eggs, birds, bats and rodents. Pearl-spotted Owlets nest in holes in trees in the springtime, lying 2 – 4 eggs. Pairs defend their territories year-round.
The Pearl-spotted Owlet is a common resident of the savannas and woodlands of Sub-Saharan Africa, and listed as “Least Concern” by the IUCN. In South Africa it is found from the north of Kwazulu-Natal through Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Gauteng and North West Province to the Kalahari regions of the Northern Cape.
DeWetsWild 