Happy in the Heat T e sun is beginning to set in the Sonoran Desert in Arizona. A scorpion scuttles across the sand looking for food. T e long shadow of a saguaro cactus provides a little shade for it. Inside a hole in the cactus, a small face
with big eyes peeks out. It’s an elf owl. T is tiny owl stands only 14 centimeters tall. T at’s about the size of a soda can. It’s the tiniest of all the owls in the world. From its nest inside the cactus, the elf owl
watches the scorpion below. Suddenly, it flies out of the cactus and swoops down toward the scorpion. T en its pounces feet first. Gripping the startled scorpion in its talons, the owl snips off its stinger with its beak and swallows the scorpion whole.
Eye See You! All owls have big eyes, which help them see well in the dark. But in comparison to the rest of its body, an elf owl’s eyes are huge. If a person’s eye size matched the elf owl’s, the person’s eyes would be the size of grapefruits. When it comes to seeing in the dark, eye
size matters. Bigger eyes have more surface area to collect light. Owl eyes are lined with rod cells. T ey help animals see in low light. Owl eyes also have a structure that reflects
light. It’s kind of like a mirror. When light comes into the eye, it hits the rod cells, and the owl can see even in the dark. T e light also hits the reflective cells and bounces around the inside of the eye, hitting the rods again. T is gives the owl twice the seeing power. It brightens the night. Like all owls, an elf owl has outstanding
night vision. It’s quick to find and dine on moths, crickets, beetles, scorpions, and spiders. Water in the desert can be hard to come by, but elf owls get the water they need from the prey they eat. Elf owls also rely on other birds like
flickers and woodpeckers to tap out nest holes in the cactus. Aſt er a full night of hunting, an elf owl returns to its nest.
6 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER
Many elf owls make their nests inside cacti. This also gives them a safe place to search for prey.
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