Bird name:

Burrowing Owl

Athene cunicularia

Order

STRIGIFORMES

Family

True Owls (Strigidae)

Code 4

BUOW

Code 6

ATHCUN

ITIS

177946

Breeding Location:

Grassland with scattered trees, Tundra, Savanna, Coastal ponds

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Often colonial

Breeding Population:

Fairly common to common but local

Egg Color:

White, nest stained

Number of Eggs:

7 - 10

Incubation Days:

21 - 30

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Material:

Lined with cow manure, horse dung, food debris, dry grass, weeds.

Migration:

Irregular

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General

Burrowing Owl: Small ground-dwelling owl, mostly brown with numerous white spots and no ear tufts. Legs are long. Sexes are similar. Juvenile has pale underparts and buff breast.

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.

Breeding and 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.

Foraging and 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.

Vocalization

Burrowing Owl: Call is a two-syllable "who-who." When disturbed in the nest, young sound an alarm that imitates a rattlesnake.

Similar Species

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

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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.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

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