About the Elf Owl
The elf owl (Micrathene whitneyi) is a small grayish-brown owl about the size of a sparrow found in the Southwestern United States, central Mexico, and the Baja California peninsula. It has pale yellow eyes highlighted by thin white "eyebrows" and a gray bill with a horn-colored tip. The elf owl frequently inhabits woodpecker holes in saguaro cacti; it also nests in natural tree cavities. It is nocturnal and feeds primarily on insects.
Source: Wikipedia
Classification
- Scientific name
- Micrathene whitneyi
- Family
- Owls
- Order
- Strigiformes
Similar species
Other members of the owls family recorded in North America — a useful place to start if you are not certain of your identification.
- Balsas Screech-Owl Megascops seductus
- Barred Owl Strix varia
- Bearded Screech-Owl Megascops barbarus
- Black-and-white Owl Strix nigrolineata
- Boreal Owl Aegolius funereus
- Burrowing Owl Athene cunicularia
- Central American Pygmy-Owl Glaucidium griseiceps
- Cinereous Owl Strix sartorii
- Colima Pygmy-Owl Glaucidium palmarum
- Crested Owl Lophostrix cristata
- Eastern Screech-Owl Megascops asio
- Eurasian Eagle-Owl Bubo bubo
Know when the Elf Owl turns up near you
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Optics
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Cameras
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