L 6″ W 15″
Habitat: This uncommon small owl inhabits the saguaro cactus in Sonoran deserts and wooded river bottoms near the Mexican border.
Nest: Nests are in abandoned woodpecker holes in mesquite, cottonwood, and saguaro cactus. Nest heights range from 10 to 40 feet above ground (Bent 1938, Karalus and Eckert 1974).
Food: The diet of the ferruginous owl consists primarily of small birds; however, insects, small mammals, invertebrates, reptiles, and amphibians are occasionally eaten (Karalus and Eckert 1974).
Elf owl
Micrathene whitneyi
L 5¼″ W 15″
Habitat: The elf owl is restricted to the southwestern United States where it is found primarily in the saguaro cactus deserts, bottomland sycamore and cottonwood stands and in conifer-hardwood forests at high elevations.