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Short-eared Owl

Asio flammeusOrder: STRIGIFORMESFamily: True Owls (Strigidae)
Short-eared Owl Head Illustration_2

Head

  • Bill Shape: Hooked
  • Eye Color: Typically bright yellow, but black-brown is also documented in one adult bird.
  • Head Pattern: Eyeline, Striped, Crested or plumed, Streaked, Special (unique patterns or features)
  • Crown Color: White, brown, and buff mottling.
  • Forehead Color: White facial disk with dark border.
  • Nape Color: Pale red-brown with dark streaking.
  • Throat Color: Buff with dark brown streaking.
  • Cere color: Brown
Short-eared Owl Body Illustration_2

Body

  • Length Range: 33-43 cm (13-17 in)
  • Weight: 315 g (11.1 oz)
  • Size: Size 3. Medium (9 - 16 in)
  • Color: White, Brown, Black, Buff
  • Underparts: Pale buff with dark streaking and buff upper breast with bold streaking.
  • Upperparts: Pale and dark brown mottling.
  • Back Pattern: Spotted or speckled, Striped or streaked
  • Belly Pattern: Striped or streaked
  • Breast Pattern: Striped or streaked
Short-eared Owl Flight Illustration_2

Flight

  • Flight Pattern: Bouyant flight., Erratic flight with flopping wing beats.
  • Wingspan Range: 91-112 cm (36-44 in)
  • Wing Shape: Long-Wings
  • Tail Shape: Squared Tail
  • Tail Pattern: Brown overall with faint spotting.
  • Upper Tail: Buff with pale brown barring.
  • Under Tail: Buff-white
  • Leg Color: Feathered in white.
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Family True Owl (Strigidae)_blue
Species Asio flammeus
Length13 - 17 Inches
Wingspan40 Inches

Short-eared Owl

Short-eared Owl: Medium owl, light and dark brown mottled upperparts and dark-streaked, pale buff underparts. Head has large, round, pale buff facial disk with fine, brown tinges, black around eyes, and small ear tufts. Eyes are yellow and bill is black. Flight is erratic with flopping wing beats.

● Song: "voo-hoo-hoo", "kee-ow"

● Foraging & Feeding: Short-eared Owl: Eats voles, mice, shrews, ground squirrels, pocket gophers, pocket mice, moles, rats, small rabbits, and muskrats; also takes small birds and large insects; forages mostly at night.

● Breeding & nesting: Short-eared Owl: Lays three to eleven white eggs in a ground nest lined with grass and downy feathers; nest is usually built on a slight ridge or mound with enough vegetation for concealment. Female incubates eggs for 25 to 29 days.

● Similar species: Short-eared Owl: Long-eared Owl has a smaller "wrist" patch, buff underwings, and a darker belly. Burrowing Owl is much smaller and has a pale bill.

Flight Pattern

Bouyant flight., Erratic flight with flopping wing beats.
Short-eared Owl Body Illustration_2
● Range & Habitat: Short-eared Owl: Occurs on every continent except Australia and Antarctica; prefers open spaces such as grasslands, prairies, agricultural fields, salt marshes, estuaries, mountain meadows, and tundra.
BreedingMonogamous, Sometimes forms small colonies
PopulationFairly common, Declining
MigrationMigratory
Weight11.1 Ounces