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Burrowing Owl
The Burrowing Owl, Athene cunicularia, is a small, long-legged owl found throughout open landscapes of North and South America. There are two subspecies in North America: A. c. hypugea of southern Canada, western USA, and Mexico; and A. c. floridana of Florida and some Caribbean islands. Other subspecies are recognized in Central and South America.
Burrowing owls can be found in grasslands, rangelands, agricultural areas, deserts, or any other dry, open area with low vegetation. Unlike most owls, burrowing owls are often active during the day. However, most hunting is done at night.
They are year-round residents in the southern areas of their range. Birds that breed in Canada and northern USA usually migrate south to Mexico and southern USA during winter months.
Adults have brown plumage with white spotting. The belly is white with brown bars. Their eyes and bill are yellow and they have long legs. The females are darker than the males. The average adult is slightly larger than a robin, at 25 cm (10 inches) length, 53 cm (21 inches) wingspan, 170g (6 oz) weight. The young owls look similar to the adults except that they have a buff bar across their wings and their chests are covered in a white to buff down.
The burrowing owl is endangered in Canada, threatened in Mexico, and a species of special concern in most of the western USA. The major reasons for declining populations are control programs for prairie dogs and loss of habitat. On the IUCN Red List, however, it is a species of Least Concern because of a large global population.
Burrowing owls are able to live for at least 9 years in the wild and over 10 years in captivity. They are often killed by vehicles when crossing roads, and have many natural enemies, including badgers, coyotes, and snakes. They are also killed by feral and domestic cats and dogs.
This one was found around a house in Louveira, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Pam Russel told me the specimen and I got the information from Wikipedia.
Regards,
Jáed. |
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