Diminutive owl

This is an Elf Owl. This picture was taken in SE Arizona at Tony Battiste’s B&B. He has his backyard set up with feeders and photography blinds. This owl (and its predecessors) have been nesting successfully in his yard for 17 years. Tony often states, this is the most photographed Elf Owl in the world. At night both male and female come out of their nest hole and capture insects that gather around a yard light and also catch small rodents that are attracted the fallen seed from the feeders. This species migrates into SE Arizona from Mexico in March, nests, and then returns to Mexico in July or August.