The Burrowing Owl, Athene cunicularia, is a small owl.

Adults have brown plumage with white spotting, darker on the chest. The belly is white with brown bars. Their eyes and bill are yellow and they have long legs. The females are darker than the males.

The main call of a burrowing owl is mainly given by the adult males 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 defense. They also make other sounds, which are described as chuck, chatter and scream. These sounds are usually accompanied by a bobbing of the head up and down.

The nesting season begins in late March or April. Burrowing Owls are usually monogamous but occasionally a male will have 2 mates. Their breeding habitat is open grassland or prairie across western North America and the far south of the United States. They nest in a burrow; if soil conditions allow, they may excavate their own or take over one created by another burrowing animal such as a Prairie dog or ground squirrel. Adults usually return to their burrow every year.

They are permanent residents in southern areas; northern birds migrate to Mexico and Central America.

These birds wait and swoop down from a perch, run down prey or catch insects in flight. They mainly eat large insects and small mammals, especially mice, rats, and ground squirrels. Unlike other Owls, they also eat fruits and seeds, especially the fruit of Tesajilla and prickly pear cactus. They can be active day or night during nesting; at other times, they are active at dusk and night.

Burrowing owl

This bird is endangered in many areas and has disappeared from much of its original range as a result of population control programs for prairie dogs and loss of habitat.

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 snakes, cats and dogs. They are listed as an endangered species.

Carl Hiaasen's young adult novel Hoot (2002) is about a group of schoolkids doing something about the planned construction of a pancake house that would go hand in hand with the destruction of the burrowing owls' habitat in a small town in Florida.

The burrowing owl is the official mascot of Florida Atlantic University. The campus was designated a burrowing owl sanctuary in 1971 by the Audubon Society. The owl prefers the campus because there are not many predators, other than cats, near an airport. For the university, the owl is traditionally associated with wisdom and determination.

Resources

[Owl Pages]