Our smallest owl, the Elf Owl, is 5-1/2 inches
long. It has yellow eyes and a very short tail. It lacks ear
tufts. It is buff-colored with indistinct dark streaks. The
Elf Owl can be readily found in desert lowlands and in canyons,
especially in oaks and sycamores; it is fairly common in foothills
and generally scarce and declining in Texas and California. It
breeds in southeastern California, southern Arizona, southwestern
New Mexico, and Rio Grande Valley of Texas. It winters in Mexico.It
is strictly nocturnal and roosts and nests in cavities in saguaros
and trees. Its call is an irregular series of high churp's and
chattering notes.
Three white eggs are laid in a deserted
woodpecker hole in a cactus or an oak, pine or other tree.
When captured, this tiny owl likes to play opossum and feigns
death until it is sure that all danger has passed. It feeds almost
exclusively on insects, catching them in the air or on the ground.
It will also eat mice and lizards.
