Elf Owl (Micrathene whitneyi) [XC327613]
by Scott Olmstead from San Pedro La Junta, Puebla, Mexico (song)
Elf Owl (Micrathene whitneyi) [XC187624]
by Phoenix Birder from Riverside County, California, United States (begging call, call, chatter, station call, bark, call-type c, feeding calls)
Subspecies
Relationships unclear. Subspecies whitneyi and sanfordi appear to intergrade in north-western Mexico and southern Arizona.
The following 4 subspecies are recognised:
whitneyi (Cooper, 1861) - Breeds south-western USA (extreme southern Nevada, south-eastern California, central Arizona, south-western New Mexico and south-western Texas) south to north-western Mexico (Sonora).
idonea (Ridgway, 1914) - Southern Texas south to central Mexico (south to Puebla, west to Guanajuato).
sanfordi (Ridgway, 1914) - Southern Baja California and parts of Mexican mainland.
graysoni Ridgway, 1886 - Revillagigedo Is (Socorro I).