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Featured Species: The Great Horned Owl and The Burrowing Owl

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Great Horned Owl in flight (Brett McCleary, www.arkive.org)

Young Burrowing Owl (Wendy Shattil and Bob Rozinski, www.arkive.org)

Great Horned Owl chicks in cactus nest (John Cancalosi, www.arkive.org)

Great Horned Owl juvenile showing defensive display (Gerrit Vyn, www.arkive.org)

Burrowing Owl amidst wildflowers (Steven Miller, www.arkive.org)

Great Horned Owl calling (Ted Levin, www.arkive.org)

Burrowing Owl showing bright yellow eyes (McPhoto, www.arkive.org)

Burrowing Owl perched in flowering tree (Christophe Courteau, www.arkive.org)

Young Burrowing Owl chicks (Wendy Shattil and Bob Rozinski, www.arkive.org)

This website gives an overview of the life history of both the Great Horned Owl (Bubo Virginianus) and Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia), with a specific focus on their feeding habits, nutritional requirements and digestive anatomy. Both these species are carnivorous birds of prey, but are found in different habitat types with diets composed of similar prey. The Great Horned Owl lives mainly in open woodlands and eats a diet composed of small mammals, whereas the Burrowing Owl lives in desert or savanna and lives off of a variety of arthropods (Mikkola 2012). The Burrowing Owl will eat rodents occasionally, but will not be the main composition of its diet and vice versa for the Great Horned Owl and arthropods.

Continue exploring the site to learn more about the nutrition of these 2 incredible owl species!