Burrowing Owl

By Cassandra

APPEARANCE

The Burrowing Owl is a small bird which is in danger of being extirpated from Manitoba. The Burrowing Owl is found in grasslands. There are small populations in Florida and the Caribbean Island. In 1977 there were about 2000 pairs all together. 100 pairs in Manitoba, 1300 pairs in Saskatchewan, 600 pairs in Alberta and a few in British Columbia. The Burrowing Owl is the size of a pigeon. It's about 23 to 28 centimeters tall. It has an owl shaped head, long legs and a short tail. It looks like a fat body on stilts. Females are larger than males. Their color is brown.

FOOD

The Burrowing Owl eats grasshoppers, mice, insects and beetles (mostly it eats beetles and grasshoppers) voles, ground squirrels, toads, small birds and snakes. However its usual diet is beetles and grasshoppers.

HABITAT

The Burrowing Owl is found in Western North America from Southern Canada to Mexico. Most Burrowing Owls in Canada live in the area from Regina, Saskatchewan to Brooks, Alberta. In Manitoba they make their nest in an area from Winnipeg, North to Dauphin. They are called a ground owls because they live in prairie dog holes.

WHY ENDANGERED?

The Burrowing Owl is Endangered from Manitoba because it's sensitive to the spraying of the insecticide-Furadarn 4804. As prairie dogs disappear there are no holes for the owls to nest in.

WHAT CAN WE DO?

What we could do to help the Burrowing Owl is to tell the people who spray that insecticide- Furadarn 4804 to stop. We need to set land aside for the prairie dogs and the owls.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. "Burrowing Owls" Prairie Threatened wildlife Winnipeg : Manitoba natural Resources 1992. Pamphlet.

2. " Owl" The World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia 1996 CD ROM

3. " Burrowing Owl" Environment Canada 1996 http://www.doe.ca/cws-scf/es/factpics/burowl.htm

4. Wedgewood, Jim. Threatened Canada Wildlife 1980. pamphlet