Book 16, Question 86
How Does the Tiny Elf Owl Find a Home in a Cactus?
The tiny elf owl finds a home in a cactus by moving into a hole that a woodpecker made! The hole is cool, safe, and ready to use. Cactus and woodpecker work together to build a nest for the owl.
More fun facts
- Where there are no trees, the elf owl makes its home in tall cactus plants.
- Elf owls nest in Big Bend National Park in Texas, along with great horned owls and burrowing owls.
- Another small owl, the cactus ferruginous pygmy owl, also nests in saguaro cactus in the Sonoran Desert.
- That pygmy owl often catches prey twice its own size.
- Scientists fit young pygmy owls with GPS trackers to follow where they go.
Sources: BBC, National Park Service, National Geographic
Questions kids ask
Where does an elf owl live where there are no trees?
In tall cactus plants.