OWLS 



121 



Arizona is a land of extremes. We may ex- 

 pect to find gray and brown birds to match the 

 colors of the desert ; we also find birds of most 

 brilliant hue. There are also extreme.-^ in size. 

 Here in the desert lives the dwarf of all Owls. 

 When we made his acciiiainlance, we found he 

 was no bigger than an English Sparrow. What 

 a tiny baby in com])arison to the Great Horned 

 Owl ! 



When the lalu Mr. liiTbcrt Brown, who was a 

 splendid naturalist and outdoor man. asked us 

 to go Owl hunting, we accepted. The next morn- 

 ing, he came early with a team and light wagon. 

 In the back of the wagon, he had three short 

 ladders, which I discovered later had been built 

 especially so they fitted together and made a 

 ladder long enough to reach up near the toj) of 

 the tallest cactus. No matter how ex])crt one 

 is at climbing, he would have some difficulty 

 without a ladder in getting up where the Elf 

 Owls nest, for they prefer the highest W'ood- 

 pecker's hole in the top of the giant cactus. 



In the semi-desert country around Tucson, 



the Woodpeckers find very few trees, not nearly 

 enough for nesting places. As a substitute, they 

 take the giant cactus. When they drill a cavity 

 into the green cactus trunk, the sap oozes out 

 and hardens, making a hard-shelled house that 

 is very permanent. Oftentimes when the cactus 

 falls to decay, one may pick uj) these gourd- 

 shaped homes made by the Woodpeckers. In 

 many places, one may see the candelabra-like 

 branches of the giant cactus riddled with Wood- 

 |ic-cker holes. These furnish secure homes for 

 tile little Elf Owl and we had no difficulty in 

 linding plenty of these tiny Owls by using the 

 long ladder. 



The Elf Owl is abundant about Tucsun. Mr. 

 lirown said, "Their food consists largely of 

 ants, beetles, and grasshop])ers." The bird is 

 almost entirely nocturnal in habits and is seldom 

 seen moving about in the daytime. It is a con- 

 stant night hunter, flitting about over the desert 

 for insects, very seldom preying on other birds 

 or animals. 



W'lLLI.\.M L, I'lXLEV. 



Photu by W . L. Fnilcy and U. T. Bi^hlman 



ELF OWL 

 No bigger than an English Sparrow, but still an Owl 



