The elf owl is the smallest owl in North America. In fact, it is the tiniest owl in the world! This owl is about the size of a sparrow. The elf owl lives mostly in the deserts of Arizona, California, and central Mexico.

The elf owl is nocturnal which means it is active at night. This owl hunts mostly at dusk and at night. It flys like a bat to catch insects in the air. The owl will remove the stinger from the scorpion before eating it.

This tiny, 6-inch owl is not much of a fighter. It hides by standing still and blending in. If that does not work, it tries to fly away. If trapped, an elf owl will play dead! Luckily, this owl does not run into many predators. Most of their predators hunt during the day.

The owl lives in old woodpecker holes, often in a saguaro cactus. That protects it from small mammals that might like to eat its eggs and young. When the elf owl does nest, it lays one to five eggs. The eggs hatch about two weeks later. Most of the young owls live long enough to grow feathers.

Birds called starlings give the owl trouble. Starlings like to live in the same kinds of holes as the owl. Sometimes a starling will throw an elf owl out of its nesting place.