Discover

Today
Animals
Explore
Archive
Search

Use it

Classroom
Resources
Field lab
Quiz
Saved

Trust

Methodology
Sources
Corrections
Accessibility
Contributors

Details

About
Contact
Privacy
Terms
Newsletter

Elf Owl | Daily Animal Facts

Animal profile

Elf Owl

Micrathene whitneyi

AvesDesert scrub with saguaro cactus, riparian woodland and oak canyonsLeast Concern

Field profile

The smallest owl in the world by weight, a grey-brown bird roughly the size of a sparrow with pale eyebrows and no ear tufts. It nests in old woodpecker holes, often in saguaro cactus. Its diet is mainly insects, including scorpions, and it is strictly nocturnal.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2023-03-25

Elf Owl

The world's lightest owl nests inside a cactus

The elf owl weighs about 40 grams, less than a golf ball, and raises its young in old woodpecker holes drilled into saguaro cactus. The cactus seals the cavity with hard scar tissue, producing a cool, defended chamber known as a saguaro boot.

Read with evidence →