Are they endangered?
No, they are not threatened worldwide. [IUCN Redlist:
Least concern] They are threatened in Saskatchewan,
Canada.
What are their
past/present problems?
Burrowing Owls die if their prey is poisoned by farmers
who want prairie dogs and ground squirrels to leave
their farmland. Since people are expanding where they
live and building shopping centers this bird is losing
its habitat.
What do they look
like?
The body and belly of this owl are brown with white
spots. Their eyes are a bright yellow and their
beaks
are beige.
How big are they?
Burrowing Owls are about 9 inches long. If their wings were
spread out, they would be about 2 feet wide.
How many eggs do they
lay?
The females lay from 1-12 white eggs once or twice a year. The
eggs take about a month to hatch.
How long do the
fledglings stay in the nest?
Burrowing Owls live underground. They like to live in prairie
dog or turtle holes. They make the nest with cow manure, owl
pellets, and other disgusting things. They also use grass,
feathers, and weeds. The babies [owlets] stay in the nest for
about a month.
When do they hunt?
They hunt mostly during the day, but
sometimes at night.
What do they eat?
They like to eat small rodents [], insects, prairie dogs,
and ground squirrels.
Where do they live?
The live in Canada, the United States, Central and South
America, and the Caribbean Islands.
What kind of place do
they like to live in?
They like to live on prairies where they find prairie dogs to
eat. They like grasslands, and open flat areas, too. If they
live near people, you might find them on farm fields and golf
courses.
Interesting facts:
If you bother a Burrowing Owl, it will make a rattling
sound like a rattlesnake.
Burrowing Owls perch on low places like rocks, mounds of
dirt, telephone poles, and fences while they look for
prey.
Sometimes Burrowing Owls live on airfields.
When an enemy gets close to them, they bob up and down
while standing in one place.
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Works Cited:
Alsop, Fred. Birds of North America. New York: DK
Publishing, 2001.
