Burrowing Owl
(Athene cunicularia)

Overview

Summary

© John Reaume
For additional photos and vocalizations, visit Dendroica. (Link opens in a new window.)

The Burrowing Owl was once a common breeding bird but is now rare on the dry grasslands in western Canada. Targeted surveys in the prairie provinces indicate that the Canadian Burrowing Owl population declined by about 90% in the 1990s (COSEWIC 2006d). Because of its small and declining population, it was designated as Threatened by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada 1979 and 1991, then re-assessed as Endangered in 1995 and again in 2006 (COSEWIC 2006d). This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.

Designations

Population status

Population estimate

Distribution maps

• BirdLife International / NatureServe

Migration strategy, occurrence

Responsibility for conservation of world population

Conservation and management

Causes of the widespread decline in Burrowing Owl populations are not clearly known, but current research shows that low productivity and net emigration to the United States are major causes (COSEWIC 2006d). Other factors include significant and continuing loss of habitat, both on the breeding and wintering grounds, pesticides and road-kill (COSEWIC 2006d). Historically, Burrowing Owls depended on other burrowing mammals (such as prairie dogs) for nest site. The loss of prairie dog colonies from agricultural operations limit the nest sites available to Burrowing Owl and have contributed to their decline (Poulin et al. 2011). Ongoing attempts to re-establish a viable breeding population in southern British Columbia have shown limited success (COSEWIC 2006d). For information on the legal status of this species under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) and to view the Recovery strategy, see the SARA Registry.

Bird conservation region strategies

Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:

• conservation concerns (i.e., species vulnerable due to population size, distribution, population trend, abundance, or threats)
• stewardship responsibilities (i.e., species that typify the regional avifauna or have a large proportion of their range or population in the sub-region)
• management concerns (i.e., species that require ongoing management because of their socio-economic importance as game species, or because of their impacts on other species or habitats)
• other concerns (i.e., species deemed a priority by regional experts for other reasons than those listed above or because they are listed as species at risk or concern at the provincial level)

Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.

References

• COSEWIC. 2006d. COSEWIC Assessment and Update Status Report on the Burrowing Owl Athene cunicularia in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. vii + 31 pp. COSEWIC. 2006d. COSEWIC Assessment and Update Status Report on the Burrowing Owl Athene cunicularia in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. vii + 31 pp. (Link)
• Poulin, R., L.D. Todd, E.A. Haug, B.A. Millsap and M.S. Martell. 2011. Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Poulin, R., L.D. Todd, E.A. Haug, B.A. Millsap and M.S. Martell. 2011. Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. (Link)