Birds and Birding's Guide to:

Watching THE ROLLER-LIKE BIRDS

THE ROLLERS AND THEIR ALLIES

THE OWLS

Elf Owls

The final genus of typical Owls embraces the two species of quaint little Elf Owls (Micro pallas), the smallest members of the entire suborder, and quite to be compared in this respect with the little Falconets, the most diminutive of the diurnal birds of prey. These little Owls, which are hardly more than six inches in length, have a small, weak bill, which is hidden among recurved and oppressed bristly feathers, while the facial disk is imperfect, the wings relatively very long but rounded, and the tail of moderate length. The tarsi are nearly naked, the feathers extending but a little way below the heel-joint, the lower portion as well as the upper surfaces of the toe being covered with short, bristly hairs. A very marked character is afforded by the claws, these being remarkably small, weak, and little curved,”hardly more than insessorial, instead of raptorial, in character."

The first species to be discovered was the Elf Owl, or Whitney's Owl (M. whitneyi), as it is sometimes called, which was found about 1861 at Mojave, in southern California, at a point, however, which subsequent events have shown was near the extreme north and western limit of its range, whence it extends southwestward through southern Arizona, and is there the commonest Owl of the region. It is nocturnal in its habits, being seldom abroad during the daytime, but spending this time in concealment in abandoned Woodpeckers' holes in trees and giant cactus, or in the densest thickets.

They are very quiet, gentle little Owls, rarely protesting when taken in the hand, and several are often found in company.

When one finds that it has been observed, it sits quite erect and perfectly motionless, often, according to Mr. Stephens, holding up one wing in front of the face as a sort of shield. The call note, which is frequently repeated and in different keys, is described by Bendire as resembling the syllables”cha-cha, cha-cha,”and is not unpleasant in sound. Its food consists almost entirely of insects, especially grasshoppers and large beetles. The favorite nesting sites of these remarkable little Owls are deserted Woodpeckers' holes in the giant cactus, rarely in holes in trees, such as cottonwood or mesquite. There is no nest, the eggs, which number from two to five, being deposited on a few chips at the bottom of the cavity; both parents assist in incubation, which lasts about two weeks. The other species is the Socorro Elf Owl (M. socorroensis) of Socorro Island, western Mexico.

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