Short-eared owl
Asio flammeus · Moorland, marsh, rough grassland and coasts
~35 cm tall · 100 cm wings
- Short-eared owl: about 350 mm tall, 1,000 mm wingspan, yellow eyes, short and often invisible ear tufts. Hunts in daylight over moorland, marsh and farmland. source
- The short-eared owl male’s rarely heard song is a low “boo-boo-boo”; females give a “ree-yow”. source
- Most owls are nocturnal, but some hunt by day, such as the short-eared owl and the burrowing owl. source
- Short-eared owls lay big clutches: typically 4–7 eggs (up to 9 recorded), incubated for about 26 days. source
- BTO: about 620 pairs of short-eared owls (2007–11); the latest estimate range is 620 to 2,200 pairs. The breeding range has almost halved since 1968–72. source
- Short-eared owls are nomadic: BTO tracking showed one bird attempting to breed in both Scotland and Norway. source
- In winter, short-eared owls from Scandinavia, Russia and Iceland arrive in Britain. source
- Short-eared owl: Amber-listed, partly because it is of European conservation concern. source
- BTO: oldest ringed short-eared owl 6 years 7 months (set in 1963). source
Scientific name checked against Wikipedia.
