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Bird name:

Short-eared Owl

Asio flammeus

Order

STRIGIFORMES

Family

True Owls (Strigidae)

Code 4

SEOW

Code 6

ASIFLA

ITIS

177935

Breeding Location:

Open landscapes, Marshes, freshwater, Swamps

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Sometimes forms small colonies

Breeding Population:

Fairly common, Declining

Egg Color:

White, nest stained

Number of Eggs:

3 - 11

Incubation Days:

24 - 27

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Material:

In shallow depression, lined with feathers and grass.

Migration:

Migratory

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General

Short-eared Owl: Medium-sized owl with light and dark brown mottled upperparts and dark-streaked, pale buff underparts. Head has large, round, pale buff facial disk with fine, brown tinges, black around eyes, and small ear tufts. Eyes are yellow and bill is black. Sexes are similar.

Range and Habitat

Short-eared Owl: Occurs on every continent except Australia and Antarctica; prefers open spaces such as grasslands, prairies, agricultural fields, salt marshes, estuaries, mountain meadows, and tundra.

Breeding and Nesting

Short-eared Owl: Lays three to eleven white eggs in a ground nest lined with grass and downy feathers; nest is usually built on a slight ridge or mound with enough vegetation for concealment. Female incubates eggs for 25 to 29 days.

Foraging and Feeding

Short-eared Owl: Eats voles, mice, shrews, ground squirrels, pocket gophers, pocket mice, moles, rats, small rabbits, and muskrats; also takes small birds and large insects; forages mostly at night.

Vocalization

Short-eared Owl: Male’s territorial song is a pulsing "voo-hoo-hoo", resembling an old steam engine, given mainly during flight displays; female responds with a barking "kee-ow." When excited near the nest, both sexes squawk, bark, hiss, and squeal.

Similar Species

Short-eared Owl: Long-eared Owl has a smaller "wrist" patch, buff underwings, and a darker belly. Burrowing Owl is much smaller and has a pale bill.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America