The Elf Owl (Micrathene whitneyi) is a tiny migratory owl of the American southwest. It can be found during summer months in some areas of south and southwest Texas, southern New Mexico, Arizona, and parts of southern California. It also occurs in many parts of western Mexico. It is a cavity nester and will occupy an old woodpecker hole in a large cactus or dead tree. Its barking call is a familiar sound to those of us who spend time in the deserts of the southwest. The bird at left was photographed at Rio Grande Village in Big Bend National Park, Texas in May, 1994 with a Canon T-90 and FD 400mm F/4.5 lens from a BushHawk shoulder mount with a Fresnel flash. Kodachrome 64 film was used. See below for a few other shots.

The rest of the Elf Owl shots here were digital captures in Tucson, Pima Co., AZ in April 2003. The images were taken with a Canon EOS 10D and EF 600 mm F/4L IS lens and 550 EX flash. There are two shots of a perched adult and two shots of an adult peering from a nesting hole in a Saguaro Cactus.