Cutie patootie (University of Arizona), as usual, found a unique and lovely creature in this "most beautiful place on earth". It not only adapted to its own lifestyle, but also adapted to its own body shape, and was able to survive successfully in the desert environment. Mickey Whitney, the elf owl of short Whitney, is a common resident in the coastal areas of Sonoran Desert and Chihuahua Desert. It is the smallest owl found in the world and is called the lightest owl in the world, weighing only 1.4 ounces (40 grams). Adult male elf owls will reach a length of 4.9 to 5.7 inches (12.5 to 14.5 cm) and a wingspan of 10.5 inch (27 cm). The young elf owl shown in the picture is being helped by the national park ranger after the elf owl fell from its nest during its first flight attempt. As shown in the figure
Mobile house
(ASU.edu) The family scope of Whitney Elf Owl changes every year. In spring and summer, they are found in the arid deserts of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where they breed and raise their young. They are distributed in cactus forests, woody canyons, plateaus or riverside areas with dense vegetation. In winter, they moved south and spent cold months in the warm coastal areas of central Mexico. Four subspecies of owls have been discovered: Micrathene whitneyi idonea is only found in the southern tip of Texas and northern Mexico; Micrathene whitneyi sanfordi is a resident of the southern tip of Bajasul, California; While Miclattney Whitney Graysoni lives on socorro Island in the southern cape.
Irregular orange spots of unique color (NPS) cover the back and wings of rusty brown feathers, which makes the owl an ideal camouflage brown for spending a lifetime in the desert landscape. Slight white spots are more common on the top of the head A row of white feathers highlights the edge of each wing. The chest and abdomen are a mixture of white, brown and orange striped feathers. Some first-class and second-class flight feathers are also white.
Always to the surprise of (NPS), the eyebrows of Whitney Elf Owls stand out in their unique white feathers. The mask of owl is mainly orange. This bill is gray and has a role at the tip. The iris of each big eye is mainly yellow. Unlike most owls, Whitney Elf owls have no "ear clusters" or any prominent feathers on their small round heads. Like other owls, elf owls have a series of unique soft feathers on the edge of their wings, which can make them fly quietly.
Unique nesting choices (Linda and Dr Dick Bscher) One of the more unique behaviors of these owls is related to nesting. Because of its small size, predators will be a great danger to females and chicks in the nest. Whitney Elf Owls solved this problem by learning to nest in abandoned woodpecker holes. In the Sonoran desert, golden woodpeckers, black-tailed snakes and glittering cactus are responsible for carving nests in the soft cactus pulp. As shown in the picture, when observing this Ji 'an dog, you can see the sentry in the open desert leading to the nest-it is showing its white flowers and red fruits. In areas where cacti don't grow, elf owls will nest in abandoned pecking holes on local trees and even telephone poles.
Useful works (Linda &; The nest hole created by these two desert woodpeckers is called "saguaro boots". These boots, as shown in the picture, are formed in the fleshy skin of cactus, which secretes a resin liquid to deal with the "wound" caused by digging woodpeckers. When exposed to the air, this resin will harden into a hard calluses, preventing water from further losing from the west valley birds, first for woodpeckers, and then for other birds living in the desert, such as elf owls.
Desert bees usually make hives in the boots of Xigu birds, creating a hole of sweet honey. When the cactus dies, the fleshy skin will degenerate, but the hard cactus boots still exist and are not easy to decompose. The aborigines in Sonoran Desert used to use these "boots" as containers, and sometimes even as natural water-carrying canteens. In these safe nesting boots, a female elf owl will lay 2 to 4 white eggs.
Opening Charm (NPS) The breeding season of elf owls in Sonoran desert in southwest China occurs in May and June. The male will sing loudly all night, which can impress the female and defend his territory. Males usually sing in their declared nest holes of sago chrysanthemum, trying to lure females into the holes. During their courtship, a man will actively feed his future partner. Once mating occurs, the egg is placed on the rough callus layer of passion fruit boots, and the female will hatch the egg. Eggs begin to hatch 2 1-24 days after spawning. In the first two weeks, the female bird does not leave the incubator, and the female bird brings food into the nest hole for the mother bird and the young bird to eat.
After two weeks, both parents will leave the nest to hunt and provide food for the chicks. Young owls begin to leave the nest about 28 days after hatching, but stay under the supervision of their parents for another week 10 days.
In hunting (NPS), insects, spiders, scorpions and other arthropods are the main food of Whitney Elf Owl. Mom and dad will remove the stinger of the captured scorpion before feeding it to their cubs. Large desert beetles that are nocturnal are a common food source. They hunt mainly in the twilight and dawn. They have excellent hearing and often locate and catch their prey by sound rather than vision.
The elf owl following the food (NPS) is one of the two real migratory owls found in North America-the second is the small and medium-sized flammable owl in the western pine forest, Nautilus flame, which is seen here. These two small night owl species rely on flying insects as their main source of food, so when they arrive at their breeding grounds in winter, they follow the insects into the warm climate of Mexico. Whitney Elf Owl usually leaves its summer Sonoran desert home in late September and spends the winter in the insect-filled forest in central and southern Mexico. KDSPE The cunning animal Kdspe (image credit: NPS)“KDSPs is so small that the elf owl is facing the danger of many common predators from the Sonora Desert, such as snakes, hyenas, bobcats and ring-tailed cats, and Basri Coos. Large owls, eagles and birds will also attack and capture these small owls. Few predators, if any, can catch owls when they are safely at home; But when they leave this boot, danger is everywhere. Elf owls are naturally hard to fight, and would rather run than fight. But the group of elf owls has been regarded as cooperative mob invaders and predators. Elf owls are recorded as "playi”ng possum." When they are outside the safe main chamber, danger appears and remains motionless as if they were dead until the danger has passed. "
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