Micrathene whitneyi
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The elf owl (Micrathene whitneyi) is a small grayish-brown owl about the size of a sparrow found in the Southwestern United States, central Mexico, and the Baja California peninsula. It has pale yellow eyes highlighted by thin white "eyebrows" and a gray bill with a horn-colored tip. The elf owl frequently inhabits woodpecker holes in saguaro cacti; it also nests in natural tree cavities. It is nocturnal and feeds primarily on insects.
The elf owl was formally described in 1861 by the American naturalist James Graham Cooper from a specimen collected near Fort Mohave in Arizona. He coined the binomial name Athene whitneyi, choosing the specific epithet to honour the geologist Josiah Whitney. The owl is now the only species placed in the genus Micrathene that was introduced in 1866 specifically for the elf owl by American ornithologist Elliott Coues. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek mikros meaning "small" and the genus name Athene that had been introduced by Friedrich Boie in 1822.
A molecular phylogenetic study of the owls published in 2019 found that the elf owl is a sister species to the South American long-whiskered owlet (Xenoglaux loweryi) that was first... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Elf Owl sighting in Saguaro National Park on a given day, based on 135 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 137th most-seen of the 220 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Elf Owl in Saguaro National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 7 and 10 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Elf Owl sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is mostly seen at night.
2nd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Elf Owl sightings, Saguaro National Park ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Big Bend National Park (United States, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Elf Owl is recorded against all the birds logged in Saguaro National Park (135 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
