Measurements
Both Sexes
- Length
- 13.4–16.9 in
34–43 cm - Wingspan
- 33.5–40.6 in
85–103 cm - Weight
- 7.3–16.8 oz
206–475 g
Other Names
- Hibou des Marias (French)
- Lechuza de la penas (Spanish)
Cool Facts
- The Short-eared Owl may compete with the Barn Owl in some areas. Some successful nest box programs to attract Barn Owls have coincided with the decline of the Short-eared Owl in the same area.
- The Short-eared Owl is one of the few species that seems to have benefited from strip-mining. It nests on reclaimed and replanted mines south of its normal breeding range.
Habitat
Grassland
Open country, including prairie, meadows, tundra, moorlands, marshes, savanna, and open woodland; in the Hawaiian Islands also around towns; nesting on the ground.
Food
Mammals
Small mammals; sometimes birds.
Nesting
Nesting Facts
- Clutch Size
- 1–11 eggs
- Egg Description
- Creamy white.
- Condition at Hatching
- Helpless, eyes closed, covered in down.
Nest Description
Scrape in ground lined with grasses.
Nest Placement
Ground
Behavior
Soaring
Hunts day and night; mainly at dawn and dusk in winter. Flies low over open ground, locating prey by ear. Kills prey with a bite to the back of the skull; often swallows prey whole.
Conservation
Least Concern
Declining in southern portion of range. Listed as of special concern, threatened, or endangered in some states. Common in northern portion of breeding range, but populations fluctuate greatly along with prey population cycles.
Credits
- Holt, D. W. and S. M. Leasure. 1993. Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus). In The Birds of North America, No. 62 (A. Poole and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, D.C.: The American Ornithologists' Union.