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Elf Owl
An Elf Owl in a Palo Verde tree in Tucson, Arizona
Conservation status
Least Concern
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Strigiformes Family: Strigidae Genus: Micrathene Coues, 1866 Species: M. whitneyi
Binomial name
Micrathene whitneyi (Cooper, 1861)

The Elf Owl (Micrathene whitneyi) is a member of the owl family Strigidae that breeds in the southwestern United States and Mexico. It is the smallest owl, being about the same size as a sparrow. The scientific name commemorates the American geologist Josiah Whitney.

Elf Owls are overall gray-brown with white spots on the shoulder and a white bar at the wrist. They are roughly 13 cm (5 inches) tall and have long wings and short tails. Their primary projection extends nearly past their tail. They have fairly long legs and often appear bow-legged.

From about September, southwestern USA birds M. w. whitneyi, breeding in southeastern California, southern Arizona, western Texas and northern Mexico migrate south to winter in central and southern Mexico.

They raise their young in north-facing woodpecker cavities in Saguaro cacti^[1], sycamores, cottonwoods and other hardwood trees. They are often found in chapparal habitat, and are easily found during their breeding season.

Migrant Elf Owls return north in mid-April or early May. During this time they can often be heard just after dusk or at sunset, calling to each other. Their call is a high pitched whinny or chuckle. The male and female dart around the trees and call back and forth. They choose an abandoned woodpecker cavity and the female lays 3 round white eggs. She incubates them for about 3 weeks before the chicks hatch. The young owlets fledge at about 1 month. Usually, chicks are born in mid-June or early July. By the end of July, they are almost always fledged and ready to set out on their own.

Elf Owls feed mainly on insects and therefore occupy habitats with a ready supply of these. Agaves and ocotillos are ideal places for foraging as moths and other insects may sleep in their flowers. Elf owls are known to eat scorpions, somehow managing to cut off the stinger. They are often seen chasing after flying insects, with a flight similar to a tyrant flycatcher's just after dusk.

M. w. idonea, the subspecies in southernmost Texas to central Mexico is resident, as are the isolated M. w. sanfordi of southernmost Baja California and M. w. graysoni of Socorro Island, south-west from the tip of Baja California. The latter apparently became extinct in the 20th century, probably around 1970.

1. ^ Hardy, P., Morisson, M. (2001) The Wilson Bulletin 113(1)pp:23-32

• BirdLife International (2004). Micrathene whitneyi. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
• "National Geographic" Field Guide to the Birds of North America ISBN 0-7922-6877-6
• Handbook of the Birds of the World Vol 5, Josep del Hoyo editor, ISBN 84-87334-25-3
• "National Audubon Society" The Sibley Guide to Birds, by David Allen Sibley, ISBN 0-679-45122-6

• Elf Owl photo-High Res, & Article fireflyforest.net
• Elf Owl photo gallery VIREO