BURROWING OWL

(Athene cunicularia)

eBird provides this description of the Burrowing Owl:  Small, long-legged owl of open grassy habitats. Appears brown at a distance with irregular white spotting. Yellow eyes. Typically found on the ground or perched on low fence posts or rocks. Active during day and night when it hunts mainly for insects and small mammals. When agitated, it stands erect and abruptly bows down. Nests in a burrow, often dug by a prairie dog or tortoise.  All About Birds gives this additional descriptive information for the Burrowing Owl:  Owls are unmistakable birds, and that goes double for a long-legged owl that hunts on the ground during the day. Burrowing Owls are small, sandy colored owls with bright-yellow eyes. They live underground in burrows they’ve dug themselves or taken over from a prairie dog, ground squirrel, or tortoise. They live in grasslands, deserts, and other open habitats, where they hunt mainly insects and rodents. Their numbers have declined sharply with human alteration of their habitat and the decline of prairie dogs and ground squirrels.

I saw a Burrowing Owl on the late morning of October 29, 2019, in the City of Caborca, Mexico.  I was climbing around the western slopes of a small mountain in that town named Cerro Prieto, looking for rock art.  I spotted the Burrowing Owl perched on a rock.  A beautiful little bird!  

The next time I saw this bird was on August 16, 2023, during the Harpy Eagle portion of my trip to Brazil.   Our Jeff Parker Tours group was headed toward the Juruena River when we spotted a pair of Burrowing Owls perched by the side of the road.  We watched as they flew from post to post.  I really enjoyed our time with these cute little birds!  Here are some of the photos I took that day.