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Elf Owl

Micrathene whitneyiOrder: STRIGIFORMESFamily: True Owls (Strigidae)

Elf Owl Portrait
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General

Elf Owl: Small owl with gray-brown body heavily mottled with white and cinnamon-brown. Head is round and lacks ear tufts; facial disk is bordered by a thin, black line. Eyes are pale yellow highlighted by thin white eyebrows. Wings are relatively long. Bristly feathers sparsely cover feet and legs. Tail is short with 3 to 5 pale bars. Sexes are similar.

Range and Habitat

Elf Owl: Resident in southwest U.S. and Mexico. Preferred habitats include deserts, thorn scrub, and mesquite or deciduous riparian woodlands; most abundant in deserts dominated by giant saguaro.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"CHU-ur-ur-ur", "cheeur"

Interesting Facts

  • The first published report of the Elf Owl was by James Graham Cooper in 1861. They have also been called Texas Elf Owl, Whitney's Elf Owl, and Dwarf Owl.
  • They are the smallest owls in the world, and when captured, they will play opossum until sure that all danger has passed.
  • Their breeding success is the highest of any reported for North American Owls, with 70% of all eggs fledging. This high rate of success may be due to the difficulty that predators have in reaching nests, which are often in cacti.
  • A group of owls has many collective nouns, including a "bazaar", "glaring", "parliament", "stooping", and "wisdom" of owls.


Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Elf Owl
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family
Species Micrathene whitneyi
Length5 - 6 Inches
Wingspan15 Inches

Elf Owl

Elf Owl: Small owl, gray-brown body heavily mottled white and cinnamon-brown. Round head lacks ear tufts; facial disk bordered by thin, black line. Eyes are pale yellow highlighted by white eyebrows. Wings are long. Bristly feathers sparsely cover feet and legs. Tail is short with 3 to 5 pale bars.

● Song: "CHU-ur-ur-ur", "cheeur"

● Foraging & Feeding: Elf Owl: Eats insects, other arthropods, small mammals, and small birds. Often hovers to spook insect prey into flight, and then captures it in mid-air.

● Breeding & nesting: Elf Owl: One to five white eggs are laid in an abandoned woodpecker hole in a tree or large cactus. Incubation ranges from 14 to 24 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Elf Owl: Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl and Northern Pygmy owls have longer tails, black eyespots on napes, and heavily streaked underparts.

Flight Pattern

Silent wing beats., Mothlike flight.
Elf Owl Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Elf Owl: Resident in southwest U.S. and Mexico. Preferred habitats include deserts, thorn scrub, and mesquite or deciduous riparian woodlands; most abundant in deserts dominated by giant saguaro.
BreedingMonogamous
PopulationFairly common to common, Widespread
MigrationMigratory
Weight1.4 Ounces