The flammulated owl was formally described in 1852 by the German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup under the binomial name Scops flammeola .

[4][5][6] The name Psiloscops combines the Ancient Greek psilos meaning "naked" or "smooth" with the genus name Scops, a synonym of Otus.

The specific epithet flammeolus is Latin meaning "flame-coloured", "with flame-like markings" or "flammulated".

In the winter, they are found in northern Central America, from southern Mexico to Guatemala and El Salvador.

[10] The flammulated owl nests in tree cavities and has two to four young at a time after a 26-day incubation period.

According to EBird.org, One observation group once found 47 singing birds along a five mile stretch of road near Provo, UT.

[11] Nesting habitat in the western U.S. and Canada is usually mature, open ponderosa pine and Douglas fir forests.

Currently, the International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the flammulated owl as a species of least concern, but populations may be declining in some areas.