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Florida Burrowing Owl
Athene cunicularia A. c. floridana
26.0831, -80.243
Field Notes
Description:
Burrowing Owls have bright yellow eyes. The beak can be between yellowish or greenish depending on the subspecies. They lack ear tufts and have a flattened facial disc. The owls have prominent white eyebrows and a white "chin" patch which they expand and display during certain behaviors, such as bobbing of the head when agitated.
Adults have brown upper parts with white spotting. The chest and belly are white with variable brown spotting or barring, also depending on the subspecies. Juvenile owls are similar in appearance, but they lack most of the white spotting above and brown barring below. Also, the young owls have a buff bar across the upper wing and their breast may be buffy rather than white. Burrowing Owls of all ages have grayish legs longer than other owls.
Males and females are similar in size and appearance. Females tend to be heavier, but males tend to have longer linear measurements (wing length, tail length, etc.). Adult males appear lighter in color than females because they spend more time outside the burrow during daylight, and their feathers become "sun-bleached". The average adult is slightly larger than an American Robin (Turdus migratorius), at 25 cm (10 inches) length, 53 cm (21 inches) wingspan, and 170g (6 oz).
Habitat:
Before European colonization, Burrowing Owls probably inhabited every suitable area of the New World, but in North America they have experienced some restrictions in distribution since. In parts of South America they are expanding their range with deforestation.
They range from the southern portions of the western Canadian provinces through southern Mexico and western Central America. They are also found in Florida and many Caribbean islands. In South America, they are patchy in the northwest and through the Andes, but widely distributed from southern Brazil to Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. Burrowing Owls are year-round residents in most of their range. Birds that breed in Canada and the northern USA usually migrate south to Mexico and southern USA during winter months.
Notes:
I snapped this picture while interning at the FLREC extension of IFAS in Davie Florida. This picture was taken on PRIVATE PROPERTY.
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