Meet the Tiniest Owl in the World

BirdNote^®
Meet the Tiniest Owl in the World
Written by Bob Sundstrom

This is BirdNote.

[Elf Owl song, ML105533]

As twilight deepens along a dry desert streambed, a tiny owl peers out from a hole in a sycamore tree. It’s an Elf Owl, the smallest species of owl in the world.

[Elf Owl song, ML188270]

Standing less than six inches tall, with gray feathers and big yellow eyes, the Elf Owl weighs less than an ounce and a half — a bit less than a golf ball.

[Elf Owl song, ML188270]

And they’re determined predators. Flying out from its tree cavity at dusk, the Elf Owl hunts beetles, crickets, and spiders, plus the odd lizard or mouse. Larger prey such as scorpions — with the stingers carefully removed — may end up cached in the nest for later dining.

[Elf Owl song, ML105533]

Elf Owls live in woodlands and desert cactus habitats in northwest Mexico and along the border of the southwest U.S. They often nest in woodpecker holes in tall saguaro cactus. They depart their breeding range by October to central and southern Mexico, where insects are more available in winter. But spring comes early to the desert, and the minuscule owls return by late February or March, ready to begin their breeding season.

[Elf Owl song, ML105533]

For BirdNote, I’m Michael Stein.

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Senior Producer: Mark Bramhill
Producer: Sam Johnson
Managing Editor: Jazzi Johnson
Content Director: Jonese Franklin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Elf Owl ML105533 recorded by Geoffrey A. Keller, and Elf Owl ML 188270 recorded by Bob McGuire.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2025 BirdNote     March 2025
Narrator: Michael Stein

ID# ELOW-01b-2017-03-14        ELOW-01b  

Good source: http://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/elf-owl