Active only at night, this small owl is a resident in pine-oak woodlands. It roosts during the daytime close to the trunk of a tree and looks like a broken stump. The nest is a cavity that is used year after year by the same pair. Food consists primarily of large insects and an occasional mouse.
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This small owl is confined to open woodland areas, riparian forest and occasionally saguaro cactus deserts. The nest is in a cavity of a tree, saguaro, telephone pole or occasionally in the eaves of a building. Activity is confined to the night time, and the daylight hours are spent in roosting cavities. Food varies from insects, frogs, small mammals and lizards to rarely fish.
A bird of dense, dark, old-growth or mixed mature and old-growth coniferous forests, the Spotted Owl is usually associated with Douglas-Fir, mature cottonwoods, alders, oaks, and sycamores, especially along steep-walled river valleys. They favor forests with an uneven canopy. The nest is made of sticks and can be in abandoned hawk nests, clumps of mistletoe, in large tree cavities, on broken tops of large trees, on large branches, or cavities in banks and rock faces, and the same nest is used by a pair year after year.
Apparently expanding its range rapidly from northern Mexico into the southwest, it now nests regularly in small numbers in Arizona. Often found in small flocks, it also associates regularly with Inca Dove flocks in open country, cattle feed yards, woodland edges, cultivated fields and even city centers, such as Phoenix. It feeds on the ground and eats seeds, berries and a few insects. It also often spends periods in the middle of the day and nighttime roosting with other doves in low bushes and dense trees.
The Pied-billed Grebe is almost always found alone or as a solitary pair on freshwater ponds, quiet streams and marshes. However, in the winter they occasionally occur in small loose flocks in saltwater estuaries and bays. As is typical of all grebes, this species dives for its food, which is primarily fish, crustaceans and aquatic insects. They often will have two broods in a year, and the nest is a semi-floating affair attached to vegetation. After hatching, the young are very active and often can be found riding on their parents\ backs.'
A resident of dense evergreen or mixed evergreen-deciduous forests, usually at higher elevations in the west, this small owl is rarely seen even though it is often not uncommon. \r\nThey are most easily noticed during the spring breeding season when they call regularly at night. They eat mostly small mice and during the summer also large insects. The nest cavity is in abandoned woodpecker holes or natural cavities of trunks high above the ground. The cavity is also used throughout the year for roosting during the day time.
Active day and night in dense coniferous and broad-leafed forests, this small owl preys on rodents, small birds and sometimes insects. It often sits on exposed branches and snags and attracts mobs of small birds that hassle it continually during the day. The nest cavity is high in a tree, and adults often rest in the cavity as well.
Occurring from northern Alaska to Argentina, this huge owl also occupies a wide range of habitats from tundra to subtropical forests. It hunts only at night and relishes mammals, such as skunks, rabbits and squirrels, but it will also eat large birds, fish, frogs, reptiles and scorpions. During the day, it roosts high in a tree and is often quite obvious. This owl nests in abandoned hawk, crow, and raven nests, but it will also use large tree cavities, crevices in cliff faces or almost any other protected site. It frequently enters suburban areas and even well vegetated cities.
This tiny owl is active only at night in open montane pine and oak-pine forest. It feeds almost exclusively on insects that are captured in the air or from branches, trunks and the ground. The nest is in an abandoned woodpecker hole. Its peculiar song is given mainly on moonlit nights. This species comes in two color types - reddish brown and gray.
Primarily active during the daytime, this tiny owl hunts for large insects, lizards, small birds and mammals from open perches in lower deserts and riparian areas. The nest is in a tree cavity or abandoned woodpecker hole. The population in Arizona is estimated to have no more than 30 individuals. These owls, their habitat and nests should not be disturbed for any reason. The south Texas population as well as those in Mexico and south into Brazil are apparently more secure.