Bird Album
Burrowing Owl
Athene cunicularia (Molina, 1782)
151 gWeight
The burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia) is a small, long-legged, primarily terrestrial—though not flightless—species of owl native to the open landscapes of North and South America.
Most records: United States, Argentina, Brazil
Where and when it's recorded
Burrowing Owl has been recorded at 567 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 20 countries and regions.
Records by month Northern Hemisphere
Where it's recorded most
- Southeast Farallon IslandUnited States10,628 records
- SN Laguna BatucoChile2,135 records
- Sonny Bono Salton Sea NWR – Union Tract / Visitor CenterUnited States1,703 records
More places
- Laguna MexicoMexico1,227 records
- Glendale Recharge PondsUnited States1,207 records
- Rocky Mountain Arsenal NWRUnited States1,150 records
- Piute PondsUnited States892 records
- Coyote Hills Regional ParkUnited States845 records
- Spaans LagoonAruba723 records
- Mar ChiquitaArgentina722 records
Countries and regions with the most records
eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.
About
The burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia) is a small, long-legged, primarily terrestrial—though not flightless—species of owl native to the open landscapes of North and South America. They are typically found in grasslands, rangelands, agricultural areas, deserts, or any other open, dry area with low vegetation.
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the Burrowing Owl?
The Burrowing Owl weighs around 151 g.
Where does the Burrowing Owl live?
Its breeding range: North America, Middle America, South America: widespread. It is most often recorded in United States, Argentina and Brazil.
Is the Burrowing Owl endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Burrowing Owl as Least Concern.
What does the Burrowing Owl eat?
Main food: Vertebrate prey.
What family is the Burrowing Owl in?
It belongs to the family Owls (Strigidae), order Strigiformes.
At a glance
- Weight
- 151 g
- Habitat
- Grassland
- Diet
- Vertebrate prey
- Lifestyle
- Varied
- Migration
- Resident (barely migrates)
- Conservation
- Least Concern
More measurements
- Wing
- 180 mm
- Tail
- 80 mm
- Bill
- 24 mm
- Tarsus
- 43 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
North America, Middle America, South America: widespread
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Classification
- Order
- Strigiformes
- Family
- Owls Strigidae
- Genus
- Athene
Other birds in the genus Athene
Forest OwletAthene blewitti
White-browed OwlAthene superciliaris
Little OwlAthene noctua
Spotted OwletAthene brama
West Solomons OwlAthene jacquinoti
Guadalcanal OwlAthene granti
Malaita OwlAthene malaitae
Makira OwlAthene roseoaxillaris
Papuan Hawk-OwlUroglaux dimorpha
Rufous OwlNinox rufa
Download illustration
Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Steven Mlodinow. ↗
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