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Bird name:

Burrowing Owl

Athene cuniculariaOrder: STRIGIFORMES Family: True Owls (Strigidae)
Codes: Common Name: BUOW Scientific Name: ATHCUN ITIS Taxonomic No.: 177946
Least Concern
 
Burrowing Owl
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Overview

Burrowing Owl: Small ground-dwelling owl, mostly brown with numerous white spots and no ear tufts. Eyes are yellow. White chin and throat. Tail is short, and legs are long. Bouyant, erratic flight with slow, silent wingbeats. May hover briefly above prey. The scientific name means "little digger."

Range and Habitat

Burrowing Owl: Occurs in southwestern Canada, the western U.S., Florida, and northern Alaska. Preferred habitats include open, dry grasslands and deserts.

Topo Map: Owl-like Body


Listen to Call

Voice Text

"coo-coo-roo or co-hoo", "who-who"

Interesting Facts

 Burrowing Owls are diurnal (active during the day) while most other species of owls are nocturnal (active at night).

 Like other owls they prey on small mammals but, unlike other owls, they will also eat fruits and seeds, especially the fruit of the prickly pear cactus.

 Unusual among all species of birds, the females are actually smaller than the males.

 A group of owls has many collective nouns, including a "bazaar", "glaring", "parliament", "stooping", and "wisdom" of owls.


Bird Term Glossary



Author

Gary Owen Dick

Artist

Yury Lisyak

Splitbar
Range Map for Burrowing Owl

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Family True Owl (Strigidae)_blue
Species Athene cunicularia
Length9 - 11 Inches
Wingspan22 Inches

Burrowing Owl

Burrowing Owl: Small ground-dwelling owl, mostly brown with numerous white spots and no ear tufts. Eyes are yellow. White chin and throat. Tail is short, and legs are long. Bouyant, erratic flight with slow, silent wingbeats. May hover briefly above prey. The scientific name means "little digger."

● Song: "coo-coo-roo or co-hoo", "who-who"

● Foraging & Feeding: Burrowing Owl: Eats mostly large arthropods, but also feeds on mice, small rabbits, rats, gophers, ground squirrels, bats, reptiles, amphibians, and birds. Often watches from perch and then glides silently toward target; most active at dusk and dawn, but will hunt anytime throughout a 24-hour period.

● Breeding & nesting: Burrowing Owl: Lays seven to ten white, nest stained eggs in nest lined with excrement, pellets, grass, feathers, and other debris, built in a burrow, pipe, culvert, or nest box; burrows are either dug by the owls or have been abandoned by ground squirrels, prairie dogs, badgers, or other small mammals. Female incubates for 21 to 30 days.

● Similar species: Burrowing Owl: Short-eared owl is larger, has black bill, and moth-like flight.

Flight Pattern

Buoyant erratic flight., Silent wing beats.
Burrowing Owl Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Burrowing Owl: Occurs in southwestern Canada, the western U.S., Florida, and northern Alaska. Preferred habitats include open, dry grasslands and deserts.
BreedingMonogamous, Often colonial
PopulationFairly common to common but local
MigrationIrregular
Weight5.3 Ounces
Owl-like BodyX
ChinX
The area of the face just below the bill.
4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

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.

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ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

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Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX