What is a BURROWING OWL?
The BURROWING OWL is a type of owl that has been specially bred in captivity to be able to move around on the ground. They have also been used for research in many fields, including biology, conservation, and archeology.
Physical Description
Burrowing owls are a type of owl that don't have ear tufts. They have a short, square tail, long thin legs, and pale brown plumage with white spots on the spotted and barred with dark brown feathers. As juveniles, their spots are lighter than adults'.
The burrowing owl has a short, square tail, long thin legs, and pale brown plumage with white spots on the spotted and barred with dark brown feathers. As juveniles, their spots are lighter than adults' spots. They have creamy-white eyes and a blunt wedge-shaped head that has two or three bands of white facial markings from the ear to the eyes.
Burrowing owls are a type of owl that don't have ear tufts. They have a short, square tail, long thin legs, and pale brown plumage with white spots on the spotted and barred with dark brown feathers. As juveniles, their spots are lighter than adults'.
The burrowing owl has a short, square tail, long thin legs, and a stout body. The eyes are surrounded by a yellowish-green eye ring and the ear coverts are gray with a white central spot. They have short wings, but the direct flight is usually limited to short distances due to their large size.
Males have a red throat patch which they will display during the breeding season, while females have orange throat patches with dark pigments. The sexes of the African crested porcupine are different colors, with males being all black and females being all white.
Males are known for having a red throat patch that they show during mating season, while females have an orange throat patch with dark pigments. Both sexes' tails have very long hair on them which can act as a rudder when swimming.
Size
Burrowing owls are one of the smallest owls, reaching only 9 inches (23 centimeters) in height and weighing as little as 4-7 ounces (113-198 grams). Females are slightly smaller than males. This is not typical for a lot of birds, but burrowing owls don't care about what's typical!
Native Habitat
They can be found in deserts, fields, and plains of western North America, and in dry regions of Central and South America. They spend their winters in the southwestern U.S
Food/Eating Habits
Burrowing owls have a diverse diet with small birds, reptiles, fish, rodents, and large insects. They spend much of their time hunting in stationary positions before waiting for prey to come near them or launching out of the sky to catch it when it comes too close.
Social Structure
Burrowing owls have been found to often live in permanent pairs and may form colonies of several pairs nesting in the same area. These pests have been recorded to live in burrows with entrances near each other and sometimes within the same burrow. It has been reported that these birds have a breeding season, as they are known to start nesting and producing eggs around February.
The female will then lay two white eggs on top of a soft nest of shredded feathers, sticks, leaves, roots, and other vegetation. These eggs will eventually hatch after about 25 days and the babies will be weaned, or able to forage for food on their own, around the time of their first migration. The burrowing owl is typically dark brown in color with a large black facial disk, although there are some rare light-colored birds in its range.
Reproduction and Development
Courtship begins in April. Pairs start the process by rubbing heads and cooing. They nest underground, usually in abandoned burrows dug by other animals, such as prairie dogs. Although, on occasion, they will dig their own burrow. The female digs the burrow and lays around 18 eggs.
The Incubation Period: Only the male incubates the eggs and takes care of the young. He does this in shifts during which he is away from his mate for short periods of time.
Males line the nest with grasses, roots, and dung; mothers lay eggs that fade from white to a pale greenish-blue at the edges with time until they become almost transparent; parents take turns incubating eggs for about four weeks before hatching. Both parents take care of the owlets.
They both feed them, teach them to fly, and protect them from predators while they are still in the nest. When the owlets begin to form their feathers and fatten up, they learn individual sounds that keep potential predators away from their nests and family members.
Sleep Habits
Unlike the typical owl, burrowing owls perch during the day and are generally very energetic. These owls bob their heads up and down when on their perch.
Not only are the only the Scops owl to perch on the ground, but they are also some of the world's most terrestrial birds. When threatened, they prefer to run or flatten themselves against the ground rather than fly away.
