Short-Eared Owl

scientific name

Asio flammeus

size/weight/height

Length: 13 - 17"
Weight: males 11 oz (avg.) " females 13.3 oz (avg.)
Wingspread: 38-44"

adaptations/coloration

Color: tawny to buff on upper parts including head & chest " tawny brown to buff patches on upper sides of wing (show in flight) " dark patches on undersides of bend in wings
Ear Tufts: small " difficult to see
Voice: "eeee-yerp" during territorial defense " silent while migrating " "wak wak wak" dog like barking & "toot-toot-toot-toot-toot" while nesting

behavior

ground dwelling
Feeding: circles & glides close to ground " sometimes lands on ground to watch for rodents
Hunting: often drops straight down with wings held up primarily afternoon hunter " may be active day (especially cloudy days) or night "
Roosts: on ground often in large colonies

reproduction/lifespan

Lifespan: up to 12 yrs in captivity
Courtship: spectacular flight
Nest: on ground in small colonies " nest in slight depression " sparsely lined
Eggs: 4 - 7 " laid March - June
Incubation: ~21 days
Young: fly at 31 - 36 days " stay near nest ~42 days

diet

Wild: primarily mice " also shrews, cotton rats, rabbits, pocket gophers, bats, insects, small birds & lemmings
Zoo: mice

habitat/range

grasslands " tundra " marshes " dunes " every continent except Australia

status

CITES App II " used to be more common " decrease in population due to habitat loss & increasing number of people

note

Our short-eared owls, which came from Alaska Fish & Wildlife, are non-releasable

oregon zoo exhibit

Alaska Tundra

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