Bird name:

Elf Owl

Micrathene whitneyi

Order

STRIGIFORMES

Family

True Owls (Strigidae)

Code 4

ELOW

Code 6

MICWHI

ITIS

177912

Breeding Location:

Forest edge, Mountains, Desert

Breeding Type:

Monogamous

Breeding Population:

Fairly common to common, Widespread

Egg Color:

White

Number of Eggs:

1 - 5

Incubation Days:

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Material:

In old woodpecker hole. No lining added.

Migration:

Migratory

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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.

Breeding and 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.

Foraging and 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.

Vocalization

Elf Owl: Advertising call of the male is a high-pitched yip, "whi-whi-whi-whi-whii." Calling is most intense during early evening and near dawn, on moonlit spring nights. Mated pairs may also duet, but the female's song is softer and shorter, often a simple "peeu" note to help the male locate her. Male also gives a short flight song "CHU-ur-ur-ur." When disturbed, both sexes will give a sharp "cheeur."

Similar Species

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

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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.

Riparian

Relating to or living or located on the bank of a natural watercourse (as a river) or sometimes of a lake or a tidewater.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America