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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