Three Burrowing Owlettes peeking out of their desert home.
What is a Burrowing Owl
Below is a transcription of the above sign found at the Valley of Fire Visitor Center.
Burrowing Owl – Athene cunicularia
HABITAT
Open country, such as prairies, sagebrush flats, pinyon-juniper slopes.
SIZE/DESCRIPTION
9 to 11 inches (23 to 28 cm) long, a small owl with very long legs, no ear tufts.
Color: light brown
FOOD
Rodents and insects
RANGE
Throughout Western North America and Florida, and in dryer parts of South and Central America.
ADAPTATION FOR SURVIVAL
Digs own burrow or uses one dug by animal and lines it with feathers and grasses.
At night, hunts insects on the wing.
COMMENTS
Many burrowing owls are killed along roads because they swoop low over the highway during their nightly hunts.
Drivers do not see them in time to avoid colliding with this dark-colored bird.
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