Burrowing owl

Athene cunicularia
Species Status: Endangered in Canada
Action Required: Conservation breeding, reintroduction, and translocation

The Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia)

With fewer than 1,000 pairs thought to exist in this country, the burrowing owl is one of the most endangered birds in Canada’s prairie grasslands.

Characteristics

The Burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia) is one of the smallest owl species in Canada, it is usually seen on the ground where it blends into its grassland habitat. It is distinguished by its long legs, short tail, and round head with a white eyebrow that stretches across both eyes. Burrowing owls are also known as “Howdy Owls” because of their habit of bobbing up and down in a bowing motion, a behaviour that likely allows them to determine distance from multiple viewpoints.

The male and female look almost identical, both having brown feathers with white spots on the back, a buffy white breast with brown barring or mottling, and bright yellow eyes. However, females may appear slightly darker than males during the breeding season, and males are slightly larger (about 3%) than the females. This  is unusual for raptors, which typically display “reverse sexual dimorphism” where the female is larger than the male. In this case both the males and females range in height from 19 to 25cm. Burrowing owls are also atypical in that they are diurnal (active during the day) which distinguishes them from most other owls.

Similar looking species

  • The adult short-eared owl (Asio flammeus)
  • The adult/immature northern pygmy-owl (Glaucidium gnoma)
  • The adult northern saw-whet owl (Aegolius acadicus)

Habitat

Burrowing owls can be found in prairie grasslands in Canada, but were also historically found in the open grasslands in BC’s interior. They nest in burrows dug by animals such as ground squirrels, badgers and prairie dogs in which they’ll nest or roost. These burrows are usually in open areas with low ground cover, where the owls can find rodents, large insects (such as crickets, beetles and grasshoppers), and small reptiles and amphibians, which provides abundant food to support family groups. During the colder season, Canadian and northern U.S burrowing owls migrate to warmer areas.

Range

Burrowing owls have a range that extends across large areas of North, Central, and South America. In Canada, they were historically found in the grasslands of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, with small populations also occurring in interior BC. However, burrowing owls have virtually disappeared from Manitoba, and only a small population remains in BC due to conservation breeding efforts. Throughout their remaining range, they exist in greatly diminished numbers in scattered nesting sites.

Biology

Age of maturation is 10 months for both males and females, and they can live as long as 8 years in the wild. Burrowing owls will breed between February and May depending on their geographical region—egg-laying is typically late April to early May in Canada—and will typically lay 2 to 12 eggs per clutch. The female will incubate the eggs and tend to the nestlings in the burrow while the male hunts and provides food to the female, who will then feed the chicks. Young will emerge from the burrow around 2 weeks of age, at which point both adults will feed them directly, but it will be another 4 to 6 weeks before the young take their first flights. Young owls in the nest make a rasping sound that mimics a rattlesnake’s rattle to ward off predators.

Threats

Habitat loss and fragmentation are the main reasons driving burrowing owl decline, as shortgrass prairie habitats are converted to crop production. This means there are fewer burrows available for nesting and less prey to feed on. Moreover, the use of pesticides to eliminate insects, ground squirrels and foxes can poison owls when they eat the carcasses. Of particular concern is the use of Carbofuran, a potent insecticide used to control grasshoppers, one of the owls’ primary food sources. Badgers, foxes, skunks, weasels and snakes can also greatly reduce nesting success by preying on eggs and young, while coyotes and red-tailed hawks prey on adults.

Recovery

Recommended Recovery Actions

The federal Recovery Strategy for burrowing owls calls for a number of conservation measures, including stewarding habitat, discouraging the extermination of prey species, and using predator-proof artificial nest burrows. Breeding owls to release into the wild is recognized as essential to re-establishing populations that have disappeared within their historical range.

What we are doing

Find out how Wildlife Preservation Canada helps save Canada’s birds, including burrowing owls, and how you can make a difference.

Visit the project page

What you can do

Protect grassland habitat on your property, avoid plowing or overgrazing. Never use pesticides that eliminate insects or rodents. Slow down while driving in prairie regions, especially during spring and fall migration. Report burrowing owl sightings to conservation organizations. Support legislation protecting grasslands from wind and solar development. Most importantly, support organizations working on captive breeding and habitat restoration.

FAQs

A: Some burrowing owls can dig their own burrows, using their feet and beaks to excavate! In Canada, however, burrowing owls depend on burrows created by other animals like prairie dogs, ground squirrels, badgers, and coyotes, or even man-made artificial burrows. When prairie dog colonies are eradicated as “pests,” the owls can lose their homes. This reliance on other species makes them incredibly vulnerable to prairie dog control programs.

A: They collect bottle caps, cigarette butts, foil, and paper scraps around burrow entrances. Scientists believe this signals occupancy to other owls, essentially claiming territory without aggressive confrontations.

A: Because Canadian populations live at the northern edge of the species’ range where winters are impossibly harsh. They can’t survive frozen prairie in winter, so they migrate south to Texas and Mexico. However, migration routes expose them to vehicle strikes, unfamiliar terrain, and predators. Many birds never complete the round trip.