Skip to main content

Species Information

Kingdom: Animalia
  Phylum: Craniata
    Class: Aves
      Order: Strigiformes
        Family: Strigidae
          Genus: Athene
            Species: cunicularia hypugaea

Western Burrowing Owl - Athene cunicularia hypugaea

303176

Species Extent (New Mexico)

General Description

Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) is a medium-sized (23-28 cm) diurnal owl with an extensive distribution, ranging across deserts and grasslands of the western U.S., Mexico, Central America, and South America. They are known for living in abandoned mammal burrows that they may enlarge. Burrows may originally be dug by prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.), ground squirrels, or other species. As prairie dog populations have declined, so have Burrowing Owls.

Status

Global Rank: G4T4

State Rank: S3

State Status:

Federal Status:

USFS Status: R3 SCC

BLM Status: BLM SENSITIVE

SWAP Status: SGCN

NMRP Strategy Status:

Observations in Natural Heritage New Mexico Database

Number of Subpopulations: 226

Number of Mapped Locations: 709

Number of Observations: 1114

Observation date range: 06-03-1972 to 07-15-2020

External Links


Species Related Publications

Show