Burrowing Owl - Athene cunicularia
Formerly Speotyto cunicularia
Calls - Athene cunicularia
The first published report of the Burrowing Owl was in 1782 by Giovanni Iganzio
Molina, an Italian Jesuit priest stationed in Chile.
The Burrowing Owl has also been known as Ground Owl, Prairie Dog Owl, Rattlesnake Owl,
Howdy Owl, Cuckoo Owl, Tunnel Owl, Gopher Owl, and Hill Owl.
[For help with terms used in the description, see parts of an owl. For general characteristics common to most owl species, see owl physiology.]
Description: A small ground-dwelling Owl with a
round head and no ear tufts. They have white eyebrows, yellow eyes, and long legs. The Owl
is sandy coloured on the head, back, and upperparts of the wings and white-to-cream with
barring on the breast and belly and a prominent white chin stripe. They have a rounded
head, and yellow eyes with white eyebrows. The young are brown on the head, back, and
wings with a white belly and chest. They moult into an adult-like plumage during their
first summer. Burrowing Owls are comparatively easy to see because they are often active
in daylight, and are surprisingly bold and approachable. The females are usually darker
than the males.
Size: Length 21.6-28 cm (8.5-11"). Wingspan
50.8-61.0 cm (20-24").
Weight 170.1-214g (6-7.5 oz).
Habits: Burrowing owls generally active at dusk and dawn, but sometimes at night also. They are highly terrestrial, and are often seen perched on a mound of dirt, telegraph or fence post - frequently on one foot. They bob up and down when excited. Flight is with irregular, jerky wingbeats and they will frequently make long glides,
interspersed with rapid wingbeats. They hover during hunting and courtship, and may flap
their wings asynchronously (not up and down together).
Voice: Burrowing Owls are very vocal, and have a wide range of different calls. The main call is given only by adult males, usually when near the burrow to attract a female. A
"who-who" is given at the entrance of a promising burrow. This call is also
associated with breeding, and territory defence. Other sounds called the "rasp", "chuck", "chatter",
and "scream" have been described. Juveniles give a rattlesnake-like buzz when
threatened in the burrow, and adults give a short, low-level "chuck" call to
warn of approaching predators. This is usually accompanied by bobbing the head up and
Hunting & Food: Burrowing Owls feed on a wide
variety of prey, changing food habits as location and time of year determine availability.
Large arthropods, mainly beetles and grasshoppers, comprise a large portion of their diet.
Small mammals, especially mice, rats, gophers, and ground squirrels, are also important
food items. Other prey animals include: reptiles and amphibians, scorpions, young
cottontail rabbits, bats, and birds, such as sparrows and horned larks. These Owls are
quite versatile in the ways they capture prey. They chase down grasshoppers and beetles on
the ground, use their talons to catch large insects in the air, or hover in mid-air before
swooping down on unsuspecting prey. They also watch from perches, then glide silently
toward their target. Burrowing Owls are primarily active at dusk and dawn,
but will hunt throughout a 24-hour period, especially when they have young to feed.
Unlike other Owls, they also eat fruits and seeds, especially the fruit of Tesajilla and
prickly pear cactus.
Breeding: The nesting season begins in late March
or April. Burrowing Owls are usually monogamous but occasionally a male will have 2 mates.
Courtship displays include flashing white markings, cooing, bowing, scratching and
nipping. The male performs display flights, rising quickly to 30 meters (100 feet),
hovering for 5 to 10 seconds, then dropping 15 meters (50 feet). This sequence is repeated
many times. Circling flights also occur. Burrowing Owls nest underground in abandoned
burrows dug by mammals or if soil conditions allow they will dig their own burrows. They
will also use man made nest boxes placed underground. They often line their nest with an
assortment of dry materials. Adults usually return to the same burrow or a nearby area
each year. One or more "satellite" burrows can usually be found near the nest
burrow, and are used by adult males during the nesting period and by juvenile Owls for a
few weeks after they emerge from the nest. 6 to 9 (sometimes up to 12) white eggs are laid
a day apart, which are incubated for 28-30 days by the female only. The male brings food
to the female during incubation, and stands guard near the burrow by day. The care of the
young while still in the nest is performed by the male. At 14 days, the young may be seen
roosting at the entrance to the burrow, waiting for the adults to return with food. They
leave the nest at about 44 days and begin chasing living insects when 49-56 days old.
Mortality: Burrowing Owls are able to live for at
least 9 years in the wild and over 10 years in captivity. They are often killed by
vehicles when crossing roads, and have many natural enemies, including larger Owls, hawks,
falcons, badgers, skunks, ferrets, armadillos, snakes, and domestic cats and dogs.
They are listed as endangered, threatened, or a species of special concern in most states
and provinces where they occur.
Habitat: Burrowing Owls are found in open, dry
grasslands, agricultural and range lands, and desert habitats often associated with
burrowing animals, particularly prairie dogs, ground squirrels and badgers. They can also
inhabit grass, forb, and shrub stages of pinyon and ponderosa pine habitats. They commonly
perch on fence posts or on top of mounds outside the burrow.
Burrowing Owls have been reported to nest in loose colonies. Such groupings may be a
response to a local abundance of burrows and food, or an adaptation for mutual defence.
Colony members can alert each other to the approach of predators and join in driving them
off. During the nesting season, adult males forage over a home range of 2 to 3 square
kilometres. Ranges of neighbouring males may overlap considerably. A small area around the
nest burrow is aggressively defended against intrusions by other Burrowing Owls and
Distribution: Burrowing Owls are present in North
America, and breed across the grassland regions of southern Alberta, Saskatchewan and
Manitobaand. They occur in all states west of the Mississippi Valley, breed south through
the western and mid-western States. A separate subspecies is found in Florida and the
Carribean Islands. They extend south into Mexico, Central America and South America but
populations have declined in many areas due to human-caused habitat loss or alteration.
Birds from the northern part of the U.S. and Canada are migratory.
Distribution of the Burrowing Owl Athene cunicularia
Status: Uncertain. Locally frequent, but otherwise rare.
Original Description: Molina, Giovanni Ignazio [Juan Ignazio]. 1782. Saggio sulla storia naturale del Chile (Saggio Storia Nat. Chile): p. 263.
A. c. cunicularia,
A. c. amaura,
A. c. apurensis,
A. c. arubensis,
A. c. boliviana,
A. c. brachyptera,
A. c. carrikeri,
A. c. floridana,
A. c. guadeloupensis,
A. c. guantanamensis,
A. c. grallaria,
A. c. hypugaea,
A. c. intermedia,
A. c. juninensis,
A. c. minor,
A. c. nanodes,
A. c. partridgei,
A. c. pichinchae,
A. c. punensis,
A. c. tolimae,
A. c. troglodytes,
A. c. rostrata
Campbell, Wayne. 1994. "Know Your Owls (CD-ROM)". Axia Wildlife
Page compiled by Deane P. Lewis. Page last updated 2012-08-13
OwlPages.com Owl Species ID: 220.040.000
Cape Coral Burrowing Owls - Live streaming video and information about the Burrowing owls of Cape Coral, Florida, U.S.A.