192 NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL, SOGIE® Y 
GROUP XII.—THE ELF OWL, Miucropallas. 
Last and in this case least—at any rate in point of size, comes 
the Elf Owl, Micropallas whitneyi (Cooper). Micro-Pallas he 
is indeed, the smallest owl in the world, but from head to tail, 
throughout his diminutive stature of five and a half inches, he 
holds true to the traditions and structure of the birds sacred to his 
goddess namesake. 
If we disregard his tail, we have about three and a half inches 
of owl. During the day he sleeps soundly in accepted owl-fashion ; 
at evening he wakes, stretches his wings, and sallies forth in 
quest of prey. No great game is his, for even a big beetle will 
give the tiny owl much trouble, and yet he is capable of overpow- 
ering a small mouse or shrew. Sparrows, as a rule, show no 
fear of this diminutive bird of prey when they come across him 
in the daytime, but feathers have been found in his stomach, so 
that he can claim victory over at least a wren or a sparrow. These 
owls sometimes collect around the light of a camp-fire, probably 
attracted by the insects which gather and fly about the bright spot. 
When discovered in the daytime, the Elf Owl resorts to a most 
interesting ruse to conceal his diminutive body. His wing is 
mottled gray and white like the gray stems and flecks of sunlight 
about him, and when he thinks he is in danger of being discovered 
he draws one wing across the front part of his body like a shield, 
holding it so high that he can just peer over it. If we walk 
around his perch, the knowing little chap will slowly revolve, 
always presenting his mottled wing to the front. When thus 
barricaded behind his own protectively colored feathers, it is im- 
possible, at-a little distance, to distinguish him from his  sur- 
roundings. 
Two to four eggs are laid in a deserted woodpecker hole in 
the stem of some giant cactus, and the young elfin owls are most 
quaint little creatures. The home of the Elf Owl is on the table- 
lands of Mexico, and northward to southern Texas and Califor- 
nia. This owl, including a barely separable darker form from 
western Mexico, is the sole representative of its genus, which is 
therefore peculiar to this region. Its nearest relatives are perhaps 
members of the genus Glaucidium, which, however, are larger, 
with much longer tails and, as we have seen, are more diurnal in 
habits. 
