Burrowing Owl

The burrowing owl, (Athene cunicularia) is a very recognizable owl due to it’s long, featherless legs. They can be found enhabiting burrows (that may have been excavated by Prairie dogs) in parts of North America and South America. They are quite versatile when it comes to their habitat range as they can live in grassland, deserts and even agricultural areas. One thing that makes the burrowing owl different from other owls is that they are active during the day, although they tend to still hunt from dusk until dawn when they can use their excellent night vision as an advantage.

Burrowing owls belong to the owl family ‘strigidae’, and the genera ‘Anthene’. There are believed to be around 22 sub-species of the burrowing owl.

In colour these owls are generally a light brown with mottled markings. The mottled markings are nearly always white and can look like spots of white on some individuals. They have paler fur (adults have white, young have a buff colour) on their chest and tummy, that has little or no spots of other colours.. Their eyes are usually a bright yellow colour. The colour of their beak or bill depends on the sub-species; some have a greenish coloured beak, whereas others have a more yellow beak. Burrowing owls have no ear tufts. All Burrowing owls have long legs of a greyish colour that are about a third of the size of it’s total height.

Unlike most other owl species, there is little difference between male and female burrowing owls. although females tend to be heavier and denser, and the males are often slightly taller and have a slightly bigger wingspan.

The average adult burrowing owl is about 10 inches in length and has a wingspan of about 21 inches.

Burrowing owls can use different hunting methods to other owls due to their long legs. Many burrowing owls will chase their prey on foot rather than flying, although if the terrain is bad, they will fly to catch food. They eat a range of insects and rodents.

Mating occurs around late March and early April. You will often see a pair of burrowing owls, and this pair is likely to stay together for many years. Occasionally you will see a male burrowing owl who has two mates, but this is unusual. The female doesn’t lay all the eggs in one go; instead she will lay an egg every one or two days until she feels she has a completed clutch. A clutch of eggs can be anything from 4 eggs to 12, although 9 is the usual amount. These eggs will then be incubated for 3-4 weeks until they hatch. During the incubation period the male will bring the female food, who is sitting on the eggs. After the eggs have hatched, both parents will feed their young. Within the first 4 weeks of a burrowing owl’s life it is able to fly and will make short trips out of the nest. For the first 1-3 months of their life their parents will probably still feed them. Due to high predator levels only 4 or 5 chicks are likely to survive to adulthood.

The overall status for the burrowing owl from the IUCN is ‘least concern’ although they are threatened in places such as Mexico and are endangered in Canada among other places.