Elf Owl
Common
Name: Elf Owl (ELOW)
Scientific
Name:
Micrathene
whitneyi
Global/Continental
Conservation Status: Not on IUCN 2004 Red List
National-level
Conservation Status:
Mexico
- Normas Oficiales Mexicanas (NOM) para la Proteccion Ambiental (Official
Mexican Standards for Environmental Protection) - Endangered
Key
Reference(s):
BNA No. 413 (Henry and Gehlbach 1999)
Distribution:
Breeds from extreme s Nevada (Colorado River, opposite Fort Mohave,
Arizona, at least formerly), extreme se California (lower Colorado River
Valley, formerly west to c Riverside County), c Arizona, sw New Mexico, w
and s Texas, Coahuila and Nuevo León south to Sonora (including Isla
Tiburón), Guanajuato and Puebla, probably elsewhere in c Mexico; also in
s Baja California (Cape district) and formerly in the Revillagigedo
Islands (Socorro). Winters
from s Sinaloa, Michoacán, Morelos and s Texas south to Guerrero, Puebla
and nw Oaxaca, certainly also elsewhere in c Mexico; resident on Socorro
Island and in Baja California (AOU 1998).
Habitat
Associations:
Arid lowland scrub, gallery forest, pine-oak forest (0-2100 m;
Tropical and lower Subtropical zones) (AOU 1998).
Source(s)
of Research/monitoring Needs (Number in ( ) is Physiographic Area number):
South Texas Brushlands Bird Conservation Plan (07); New Mexico Bird
Conservation Plan; Texas Avian Research Projects- TARP (Texas Partners in
Flight 2001); PIF Monitoring Needs document (Partners in Flight Science
Committee 2004)
PIF
Continental Plan Monitoring Needs Category: Mo1 (Essentially no data
on population trend); Mo4 (2/3 or more of the Western Hemisphere breeding
range is south of U.S.) (PIF Monitoring Needs doc)
RESEARCH/MONITORING NEEDS (source(s) of needs)
Monitoring
- Priority
monitoring action – Conduct Mexican nocturnal surveys (PIF
Monitoring Needs doc)
- Second
priority monitoring action – Conduct nocturnal surveys in the
U.S.
(PIF Monitoring Needs doc)
- High
priority candidate for rapid status assessment (PIF Monitoring Needs
doc)
- Distribution
and abundance of ELOW in Mid-Delta thorn-forest habitat (
South Texas
Brushlands)
- see
needs under "Habitat Restoration" and “Genetics/…”
Habitat
Needs/Ecology/Life History
- More
information on ELOW habitat needs – New Mexico-specific habitat requirements for ELOW (
New Mexico
); habitat requirements of Elf Owls (TARP - South Texas Brushlands)
- Information
on ELOW in
Mexico
(winter vs breeding areas & habitats, diet, intra- and
inter-specific relations (BNA)
Effects
of Human Development/Disturbance
- Do
nest boxes and utility poles provide adequate cavity substitutes? Do
street or house lights attract insect foods for ELOW? (BNA)
- What
are the roles
of human activity vs natural factors on range contraction, expansion,
& recolonization (in
Mexico
?)(BNA)
- Determine
if ELOW productivity is enhanced by a mix of human & natural
factors (like Eastern Screech-Owls) (BNA)
Species
Interactions
- Studies
of ecological relations with coexisting owl species & other
secondary cavity-nesters (BNA)
Habitat
Restoration
- Monitor
restoration of native vegetation on Lower Rio Grande and
Lower
Colorado
Rivers
to determine degree of ELOW reestablishment (BNA)
Genetics/Taxonomy/Systematics
- Modern
systematic study of variation in ELOW, with check of patchy range
& conservation status of populations in
Nevada
,
California
,
Baja California
, and southern Mexico (BNA)
[Link
to References]
[Link
to PIF Bird Conservation Plans]
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