Short-eared owl (Asio flammeus)

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Abstract:

One of the world’s most widely distributed owls, the short-eared owl is an open-country, ground-nesting species that inhabits marshes, grasslands, and tundra throughout much of North America and Eurasia. It also breeds in South American grasslands and on islands such as Iceland, the Hawaiian chain, and the Galápagos. Reproduction and population dynamics of this species are closely linked to the density of its primary prey, small mammals such as Microtus voles. Like other birds that depend on such a fluctuating food resource, the short-eared owl shows considerable local variation in its numbers and reproductive success, at times becoming nomadic. Although the literature on its diet in the nonbreeding season is extensive, few studies have thoroughly addressed other facets of its biology, ecology, and life history. Active day and night, the owl tends to hunt low above the ground, relying on acoustical cues, as well as vision, to locate prey. In recent decades, short-eared owls have declined in many areas of North America, especially the northeastern United States; habitat loss due to human activities appears to be the major cause. A ground-nester, this owl may also be vulnerable to increased levels of predation.

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Location: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/062; note is also filed in ELECTRONIC FILES - Zoology

Recommended Citation:
Wiggins, D. A., D. W. Holt and S. M. Leasure. 2006. Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/062 doi:10.2173/bna.62.

SWAP (2/19/2016) citation: Wiggins DA, Holt DW, Leasure SM. 2006. Short-eared owl (Asio flammeus). The Birds of North America Online. (A Poole, editor). Ithaca: Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. [revised 2006 Jun 01; accessed 2015 Jun 01]. http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/062