Burrowing Owl

“Unlike most owls in which the female is larger than the male, the sexes of the Burrowing Owl are the same size.”

The burrowing owl is a slender, long-legged bird found across the Americas. While capable of amazing acts of fanciful flight, they actually spend a lot of their time on or near the ground. This owl plays an important ecological role by regulating the number of prey in their natural habitats.

3 Incredible Burrowing Owl Facts!

• The Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife organization puts on a Burrowing Owl Festival every February in Cape Coral, Florida. It’s estimated that the city of Cape Coral has around a thousand nesting pairs.
• One of the most interesting facts is that the burrowing owl is one of the few types of owls that migrate for the winter.
• There are some 18 recognized subspecies of the burrowing owl throughout its range. Each one plays an important ecological role in its habitat.

Where to Find Them

Burrowing owls can be found throughout much of the Western Hemisphere. They prefer to roost in open areas with little vegetation or trees, including grasslands, prairies, and agricultural fields.

Nests

The burrowing owl will create a nest in the abandoned burrows of other species, including badgers, desert tortoises, coyotes, prairie dogs, and foxes. Some owls have also been observed digging their own burrows. Dung seems to be an important nesting material that may help to attract insects. The owls will defend a small home range extending around the entire nesting area.

Scientific Name

The scientific name of the burrowing owl is Athene cunicularia. The genus Athene is named after the Greek goddess Athena (who was closely associated with owls), while cunicularia is derived from a Latin word meaning burrower or miner. The little owl, also known as the spotted owl, and forest owl are all close relatives.

Size, Appearance, and Behavior

The burrowing owl is a medium-sized bird (though relatively small for an owl), measuring up to 10 inches from head to talon with a wingspan of around two feet long.

The adult plumage consists of brown feathers with barred stripes on the chest, a white chin stripe, white eyebrows, and white spots on the back. They also have round yellow eyes, very long legs, and no visible ear tufts. Males and females look very similar to each other and are difficult to tell apart.

The social life of this owl is anchored by monogamous breeding pairs, sometimes organized into very loose societies. Some 13 different vocalizations have been documented.

Most of these sounds are adapted for the purpose of defending territory or communicating with a mate. Burrowing owls can be active at any time of the day, but they do most of their hunting at sunrise and sunset.

The rest of the time is dominated by other critical behaviors such as preening, stretching, and bathing in puddles or dust. They tend to remain close to the ground or perched on a nearby shrub or post.

Migration Pattern and Timing

Only the northernmost populations of burrowing owls show any migratory behavior for the winter. During the summer, these northern burrowing owls breed in the United States and Mexico. When winter arrives, they travel all the way to Central and South America. The populations that breed in Central and South America, however, do not migrate.

Diet

The burrowing owl is a carnivore. It’s estimated that around 90% of its diet consists of insects and other arthropods. When hunting, they will walk, hop, hover, or run after the prey along the ground.

What does the burrowing owl eat?

Its diet primarily consists of insects such as grasshoppers, crickets, and beetles. It also feeds on mice, ground squirrels, lizards, snakes, earthworms, amphibians, and small birds such as sparrows.

Predators, Threats, and Conservation Status

The burrowing owl faces several threats, including habitat loss and predators. It is currently classified as a species of least concern by the IUCN Red List. The species is protected by the US Migratory Bird Act.

What eats the burrowing owl?

The burrowing owl (or its eggs) is preyed upon by bobcats, cougars, coyotes, foxes, and many birds of prey such as hawks and eagles. When attacked, the owl will scream and cluck while snapping its bill and flapping its wings in distress. Groups of owls can sometimes succeed in driving away a potential predator.

Reproduction, Young, and Molting

Every year the burrowing owl forms a monogamous pair bond with its mate. Its courtship ritual involves a long process of preening, singing, complex flight displays (in which it rises into the air with a mate and then quickly descends), and the male delivers food to its mate. This bird mates between February and May and then produces a single clutch (sometimes multiple clutches) of up to 12 eggs at a time.

After a gestation period lasting about a month, the baby chicks will emerge from the eggs, fully dependent on their parents for care. The father will provide most of the food for its family, while the mother incubates the eggs and takes care of the brood. She will not leave the chicks until they’re old enough to thermoregulate, meaning their bodies produce enough heat to stay warm.

It takes about 44 to 53 days for the baby chicks to fully fledge and leave the nest on their own. Juveniles are born with few bars and spots, but gradually they will gain their adult plumage. By the start of the next breeding season, many owls are ready to mate themselves. It’s believed that the typical lifespan in the wild is six to eight years. The longest-documented wild owl had a lifespan of 11 years old.

Population

It’s estimated that about two million burrowing owls remain in the wild. Populations may have declined by about 33% between 1966 and 2015.

1. Animal Diversity Web, Available here: https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Athene_cunicularia/
2. Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife, Available here: https://ccfriendsofwildlife.org/burrowing-owl/