Species Information

Kingdom: Animalia
  Phylum: Craniata
    Class: Aves
      Order: Strigiformes
        Family: Strigidae
          Genus: Micrathene
            Species: whitneyi

Elf Owl - Micrathene whitneyi

Elf Owl

Image courtesy of Biota Information System of New Mexico

360154

Species Extent (New Mexico)

General Description

Elf Owl (Micrathene whitneyi) is the world?s smallest (12.5-15 cm) owl that is distributed from the states just north of the U.S.-Mexico border to southern Mexico. They live in desert habitats and woodlands of southern New Mexico, including riparian woodlands. They nest in snags and saguaro cavities.

Status

Global Rank: G5

State Rank: S3B,S3N

State Status:

Federal Status:

USFS Status:

BLM Status: BLM WATCH

SWAP Status: SGCN

NMRP Strategy Status:

Observations in Natural Heritage New Mexico Database

Number of Subpopulations: 58

Number of Mapped Locations: 140

Number of Observations: 142

Observation date range: 05-29-1971 to 04-14-2022

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