(c) 2002 Dean LaTray. All rights reserved. For rights to use this photo contact Dean here.
 

Nuri
Sonora, Mexico
May 2012
Dean LaTray, who took this beautiful photo, wrote about his encounter with this Stygian Owl:

"I stopped at the arroyo near Nuri because it was an inviting spot on the 5-hour drive from Yecora to Ciudad Obregon - one of the few places with water in a very dry sun-beaten landscape of rock and thorn-scrub. Note this location is well below timber-line, located in the very rough ridges and arroyos of the Sierra Madre foothills. A water-course like this is a magnet for wildlife in the desert, as you know, and it was particularly dry in mid-May. My guide did not know of the owl. He had never seen a Stygian Owl before. We were just in the right place at the right time to see this bird."

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