Size: Length; 21-28cm. Wingspan; 50-61cm. Weight; 170-210g.

Habitat and Distribution: Grasslands, deserts and agricultural land in North America with smaller populations in Central and South America.

Age: 8-10 years

Groups and Breeding: Breeding begins in March/ April. These owls are usually monogamous but occasionally the male will have two mates. Courtship displays are fairly complex involving display flights, coos, bowing, scratching and nipping.

Burrowing Owls will either dig their own burrows or else use the abandoned burrows of mammal species. They line the burrow with nest material and often return to the same nest year after year. Up to twelve eggs are laid and incubated for 28-30 days by the female only. The male brings food to the female and takes over care of the young once hatched. Youngsters leave the nest at 44-50 days.

Diet: Beetles, grasshoppers, small mammals, reptiles and amphibians.

• Burrowing Owls are very vocal, and have a wide range of different calls, including calls to attract mates, mark the presence of a suitable burrow and territory, warnings and alarm calls.
• Burrowing Owls often nest in loose colonies with neighbouring territories overlapping substantially. Neighbours will warn each other of approaching predators.
• This is one of the smallest owl species.
• In America this is sometimes known as the prairie dog owl because it often nests in the burrows of Prairie Dogs.
• Young owls in the nest will mimic the sound of a rattlesnake in order to scare predators away.
• Fossil remains of very similar owls have been found in the Caribbean dating back about 1 million years!