Short-eared Owl

(Asio flammeus)

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List

LC - Least Concern

NatureServe

N5B, N5N - Secure Breeding and Nonbreeding

S3B - Vulnerable Breeding

Minnesota

Special Concern

Species in Greatest Conservation Need

 
 
Description

Short-eared Owl is a medium-sized owl with short, inconspicuous ear tufts, black eye sockets, and yellow eyes. The underside of the wing has a dark “wrist” crescent and black wing tips.

It hunts during the day, flying low over grasslands. The wingbeats are long and slow.

 

Size

13 to 17in length

36 to 48 wingspan

 

Voice

 

Similar Species

 
Habitat

Large open areas, grasslands, meadows, marshes, bogs, pastures, airports

Ecology

Migration

Early March to late April and late September to December

 

Nesting

 

 

Food

 

Distribution

Occurrence

Uncommon to rare migrant, regular nester

 

Maps

The Minnesota Ornithologists’ Union All Seasons Species Occurrence Map

Taxonomy

Class

Aves (birds)

Order

Strigiformes (owls)

Family

Strigidae (typical owls)

Subfamily

Asioninae

Genus

Asio (eared owls)

   

Subordinate Taxa

Cuban Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus cubensis) (not universally recognized)

Galapagos Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus galapagoensis)

Hawaiian Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus sandwichensis)

Hispaniolan Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus domingensis)

Northern Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus flammeus)

Pohnpei Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus ponapensis)

Porto Rican Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus portoricensis)

Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus bogotensis)

Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus pallidicaudus)

Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus sanfordi)

Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus suinda)

   

Synonyms

Strix flammea

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visitor Photos
 

Share your photo of this bird.

 

This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Attach one or more photos and, if you like, a caption.

 

   

 

   

 

MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
 
   

 

   

 

Other Photos
 

 

Camera

 

Slideshows

Short-eared Owl
Allen Chartier

Short-eared Owl

Short-eared Owl
Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren

Short-eared Owl

"Northern" Short-eared Owl
JMC Nature Photos

"Northern" Short-eared Owl

 

slideshow

Visitor Videos
 

Share your video of this bird.

 

This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Attach a video, a YouTube link, or a cloud storage link.

 

 

 
 
Other Videos

An Introduction to the Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) - by Wild Owl
WildOwlTV

About

Published on Jul 8, 2012

This short film by owl conservationist Ian McGuire takes a brief look at the nomadic owl that is active during the day - the short-eared owl.

For more information on British owls please visit the Wild Owl website at www.wildowl.co.uk

Separating Short-eared and Long-eared Owls
BTOvideo

About

Uploaded on Dec 22, 2011

As difficult species go, the Long and Short-eared Owl pairing are amongst the most challenging to identify, especially in flight. The latest identification video from the BTO offers tips on how to separate both, in flight, perched and by calls.

Short-eared Owl -Asio flammeus- コミミズク.mpg
MDFIDF

About

Uploaded on Mar 17, 2010

Asio flammeus, the Short-eared Owl, is a medium-sized owl averaging 3443 cm (13 to 17 inches) in length and weighing 206475 grams (11 to 13 ounces). It has large eyes, big head, short neck, and broad wings. Its bill is short, strong, hooked and black. Its plumage is mottled tawny to brown with a barred tail and wings. The upper breast is significantly streaked (Alsop 2001). Wingspans range from 85 to 103 cm (38 to 44 inches). Females are slightly larger than males. The yellow-orange eyes of A. flammeus are exaggerated by black rings encircling each eye, and large, whitish disks of plumage surrounding the eyes like a mask.

The Short-eared Owl occurs on all continents except Antarctica and Australia; thus it has one of the largest distributions of any bird. A. flammeus breeds in Europe, Asia, North and South America, the Caribbean, Hawaii and the Galápagos Islands. It is partially migratory, moving south in winter from the northern parts of its range.
Text by wikipedia

Gufo di Palude (Asio Flammeus)
Matteonibo

About

Uploaded on Feb 23, 2010

An Evening with a Short Eared Owl
rohan kamath

About

Published on Jan 26, 2015

An evening with a Short Eared Owl at Stanwood, Washington.

 

Camcorder

Visitor Sightings
 

Report a sighting of this bird.

 

This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Be sure to include a location.

 

 

MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings

 

 

 

Binoculars

 

Created:

Last Updated:

© MinnesotaSeasons.com. All rights reserved.

About Us

Privacy Policy

Contact Us