[3] The Yungas pygmy owl has been treated as a subspecies of Andean pygmy owl (Glaucidium jardinii) but since at least the 1990s has been accepted as a species in its own right and sister to G. jardinii.

[5] The Yungas pygmy owl is found on the eastern slope of the Andes of Peru south through Bolivia into northwestern Argentina.

[5] The Yungas pymy owl is primarily nocturnal and crepuscular, though it can be active in daylight.

It forages mostly in the canopy and in dense foliage below it for insects and other arthropods, small birds, and possibly reptiles.

"Forest destruction and degradation [are] probably [the] main threat[s], although inaccessibility of parts of [its] range should afford some protection.