Description

Burrowing Owls (Athene cunicularia) spend most of their time on the ground or on low perches such as fence posts. They hunt close to the ground catching insects and small animals. When alarmed they jerk their bodies quickly up and down. They are active during the day.

Burrowing Owls live in open habitats with sparse vegetation such as prairie, pastures, desert or shrubsteppe, and airports. In parts of their range they are closely associated with prairie dogs and ground squirrels, whose burrows they use for nests.

Burrowing Owls have a very wide range that extends to the tip of South America and includes many subspecies, but there are few clear differences in plumage. The subspecies that occurs in Florida and the Caribbean tends to be slightly smaller, with whiter spots, than Burrowing Owls of the West.