Burrowing Owl
by Karen Slagle
Title
Burrowing Owl
Artist
Karen Slagle
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
Burrowing Owls have bright yellow eyes; their beaks can be dark yellow or gray depending on the subspecies. They lack ear tufts and have a flattened facial disc. The owls have prominent white eyebrows and a white "chin" patch which they expand and display during certain behaviors, such as a bobbing of the head when agitated.
Adults have brown heads and wings with white spotting. The chest and abdomen are white with variable brown spotting or barring, also depending on the subspecies. Juvenile owls are similar in appearance, but they lack most of the white spotting above and brown barring below. The juveniles have a buff bar across the upper wing and their breast may be buff-colored rather than white. Burrowing Owls of all ages have grayish legs longer than other owls.
Males and females are similar in size and appearance, and display little sexual dimorphism. Females tend to be heavier, but males tend to have longer linear measurements (wing length, tail length, etc.). Adult males appear lighter in color than females because they spend more time outside the burrow during daylight, and their feathers become "sun-bleached". The burrowing owl measures 1928 cm (7.511 in) long, spans 50.861 cm (20.024 in) across the wings and weighs 140240 g (4.98.5 oz).[3][2][4] As a size comparison, an average adult is slightly larger than an American Robin (Turdus migratorius
I took this image with a Nikon D300 and a Nikkor 300mm, f4 lens. It was taken in the Texas panhandle late in the day.
Uploaded
May 30th, 2013
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Viewed 408 Times - Last Visitor from Fairfield, CT on 04/26/2024 at 10:28 AM
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Comments (42)
Bunny Clarke
What a gorgeous capture of this beautiful little owl. I saw my first one this spring. :o)
Meg Rousher
Beautifully captured. I love these owls. They are so much fun to watch and capture...l/f
Geoff Crego
Karen, I love the positioning of the owl on a tree stump, and the side lighting and muted orange backdrop is perfect. This is an awesome nature capture! vtd
Darlene Kwiatkowski
What a great catch!! The feathery little guy looks like he's smiling for you! Excellent eye contact - piercing and beautiful! fv