Micrathene whitneyi
elf owl

Elf owls are often found in the upland deserts of Arizona and Sonora, Mexico, their range also spreads into parts of California, New Mexico and Texas. Most are members of three populations that breed in the area of the United States-Mexico border and spend the winter in southern Mexico. Three other distinct populations exist in southern Baja California and Puebla, Mexico; these populations are nonmigratory. (Henry and Gehlbach, 1999)

Elf owls live in a wide variety of habitats, including upland deserts, subtropical thorn woodlands, montane evergreen woodlands and canyon riparian forests, as well as in partially urbanized areas. Elf owls nest in old woodpecker holes in columnar cacti, such as the saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea), trees, such as the Arizona sycamore (Platanus wrightii) and agave and yucca flowering stalks. Sometimes they nest in deciduous foliage. The alligator juniper (Juniperus deppeana) is commonly used for nest cavities in canyon riparian and evergreen woodlands. In suburbs and agricultural areas bordered by woods they use fence posts, utility poles and nest-boxes. (Brandt, 1951; Gehlbach, 1994; Henry and Gehlbach, 1999; Ligon, 1968; McKinney, 1996)

Elf owls are the smallest owls in the world; the total length of an adult is 12.4 to 14.2 cm. Adults weigh 35 to 55 grams. Males and females resemble each other, but the total length of the female is 3% larger than the male, and the female is 6% larger in mass. Elf owls have short tails, yellow irises, conspicuous white eyebrow marks and two rows of white spots on the wings. Their backs are grayish-brown with buff mottling; cinnamon-brown blurry vertical streaks occur on the breast. Their bills are greenish yellow and their legs and feet are tan to dull yellow. (Henry and Gehlbach, 1999; Howell and Webb, 1995)

The maximum age of elf owls is about five years in the wild, although they can reach 14 years in captivity. Causes of mortality among elf owls include: predation, competition with other species, competition between nestlings, and exposure. (Henry and Gehlbach, 1999; Klimkiewicz and Futcher, 1989; Ligon, 1968)

Elf owls are nocturnal; most of their activity occurs at dusk and before dawn. They move by walking and hopping, and they can climb like parrots. When elf owls hunt, they strike in a straight line. They also fly in U-shaped arcs between perches and sometimes they glide and hover. Some populations are migratory, others sedentary. (Gehlbach, 1994; Henry and Gehlbach, 1999; Ligon, 1968; Marshall, 1957)

Home Range

We do not have information on home range for this species at this time.

Hungry nestlings peep or squeak softly, twitter, and rasp at a rate of up to 48 times a minute. The rate and volume of their vocalizations indicate how hungry they are. They trill at high pitches when fed. Males have a song type that both claims their territory and advertises themselves to females. Males sing a variant of that song that includes more notes and rises and falls in volume. The male sings continuously from a possible nest cavity. As a female nears, the male goes into the nest cavity while still singing. This advertises the potential nest cavity and incites the female to accept it. Males also have distinct songs for use in flight and before copulation. Females make unique sounds during copulation and when being fed by males. Both sexes make a short, single, soft whistle to communicate during nesting, typically when the pair is feeding their young. This strengthens the pair bond. Elf owls bark as they face intruders or mob predators. In such a situation, they flip their tails quickly back and forth. Elf owls also clap their bills during threatening situations. (Boal, Bibles, and Mannan, 1997; Henry and Gehlbach, 1999; Ligon, 1968; Miller, 1946)

Elf owls primarily eat insects — especially moths, beetles, and crickets — but occasionally they eat small mammals and reptiles, like spiny lizards, earless lizards, blind snakes and kangaroo rats. In southeastern Arizona, elf owls change their diet based on the weather. They eat mainly moths and crickets until the summer rainy season begins, then they switch to scarab beetles. Elf owls employ a sit-and-wait strategy when foraging. They search for food on the ground, in the air, and in lower to mid-level vegetation. In urbanized areas, they forage by outdoor lights, lighted windows and at hummingbird feeders. They can catch insects in flight, capturing them with their feet or beak. Sometimes elf owls chase insects on the ground and beat them from plants. Elf owls move their food back and forth between their feet and beak in order to kill, pluck, and/or eat it. They avoid consuming dangerous body parts of prey; they remove the stingers of scorpions before eating them. Elf owls cache large prey in cavities in order to eat them at a later time. (Gehlbach, 1981; Henry and Gehlbach, 1999; Howell and Webb, 1995; Ligon, 1968)

Adult and fledgling elf owls face predation by great horned owls (Bubo virginianus), mexican jays (Aphelocoma ultramarina), and probably by Cooper’s hawks (Accipiter cooperii). Eggs and hatchlings are exposed to predation by gopher snakes (Pituophis melanoleucus), green rat snakes (Senticolis triaspis), and maybe ringtails (Bassariscus astutus). In response to the presence of a predator in the area of the nest, the nesting pair of elf owls as well as 1 to 4 neighboring elf owls will cooperatively mob the predator by directing physical assaults on its head. (Boal, Bibles, and Mannan, 1997; Henry and Gehlbach, 1999; Ligon, 1968)

Elf owls eat insects and small mammals and are eaten by larger raptors and snakes. While they have an important place in the food chain, they are not keystone or indicator species.

Elf owls may have a symbiotic relationship with both blind snakes (Leptotyphlops dulcis and Leptotyphlops humilis) and tree ants (genus Crematogaster). Blind snakes put in the nest to feed the nestlings may occasionally escape, remain in the nest debris, and consume ants and fly maggots that eat part of the food caches meant for the nestlings. Tree ants are symbiotic with whiskered screech-owls, and they may have a similar relationship with elf owls, in which they attack intruders but leave the owls alone. (Gehlbach, 1994; Henry and Gehlbach, 1999; Ligon, 1968)

There are no known adverse affects of elf owls on humans.

We do not have information on economic importance for humans for this species at this time.

Elf owls are classified as endangered in California. In some areas where deforestation is occurring, elf owls face losses of breeding habitat due to the destruction of the woodpecker holes they use as nest cavities. Attempts at conservation have generally been unsuccessful up to this point. For example, a 1983 endeavor to bring back native riparian woodland along the Lower Colorado River had mixed results because the salinity content of the soil was too high and irrigation of the native trees proved difficult. Another attempt at conservation occurred in 1994 at the Black Gap Wildlife Management Area in Trans-Pecos, Texas. Nest-boxes modeled after disappearing ladder-backed woodpecker holes were set up. The effectiveness of the attempt is unknown because no studies were conducted before the nest-boxes were set up, and there were no control groups. Conservation efforts that should continue include: field experiments that assess the habitat and populations of elf owls before the introduction of nest-boxes, the result of introducing nest-boxes into the elf owl’s habitat, and a continuous censusing of elf owl populations, which are subject to natural cycles of population increases and declines.

Elf owls are protected under the US MBTA and are listed under Appendix II by CITES, but are not listed by the IUCN or US ESA. (Henry and Gehlbach, 1999; Henry, 1998; McKinney, 1996; White Jehl, 1994)

Elf owls struggle to regulate their body temperatures when humidity is low. As the temperature of the surrounding environment increases, elf owls cease activity, compress their feathers, hold their wings away from their bodies, close their eyes and start panting. They also practice gular fluttering. Because elf owls have difficulty keeping cool, it has been suggested that the desert is a secondary habitat for them. Desert vegetation arrived in the Sonoran Region around 8,000 ago. Elf owls probably originally inhabited evergreen woodlands and riparian forests in the area where the Sonoran Desert is now located. (Henry and Gehlbach, 1999; Ligon, 1968; Lowe and Steenbergh, 1981)