Burrowing owls are small, long-legged owls that live in open, treeless areas. They get their name from their habit of nesting in underground burrows, which are often dug out and abandoned by small mammals like ground squirrels or prairie dogs. Burrowing owls are found in grasslands, prairies, agricultural areas, and desert environments across North and South America. Two subspecies are recognized in North America – the Western burrowing owl and the Florida burrowing owl.
Burrowing owls have distinctive brown and white plumage. The feather tips are white with brown bars, giving the owl a spotted and streaked appearance. The facial disk, which surrounds the eyes and beak, is white in color. Burrowing owls have bright yellow eyes. Their beaks are short and hooked like other owls. Their legs and toes are long and slender, and unlike most owls, burrowing owls are often active during the daytime.
One of the most commonly asked questions about these small owls is – what color are burrowing owls? More specifically, what are the colors of their plumage and markings? In this article, we’ll take a closer look at burrowing owl feather colors and patterns.
Burrowing Owl Feather Colors
The plumage of burrowing owls consists of different shades of brown, tan, white, and black. Here are some of the main feather colors and markings:
– Brown: Burrowing owls have brown feathers covering most of their wings, back, tail, and the top of the head. The shade of brown varies from a warm medium brown to a darker brown approaching black.
– White: Small white spots and bars mark many of the owl’s feathers, including the wings, back, chest, and facial disk. The feather tips are often edged with white speckles. The chin and throat are solid white.
– Tan: The owl’s underside (breast and belly area) are more of a tan or buff color with less distinct barring. The legs and toes are yellowish-tan.
– Black: Black feathers occur around the eyes, forming the border of the facial disk. The beak and talons are blackish-grey.
– Yellow: Bright lemon yellow eyes provide a vivid pop of color on the owl’s facial disk. The eyes are surrounded by black and white markings.
So in summary, varying shades of brown, white, and black account for most of the burrowing owl’s plumage. Touches of yellow, tan, and buff provide additional color. The white speckling and barring against darker browns gives the burrowing owl its distinctly spotted and streaked appearance.
Male vs Female Plumage
Male and female burrowing owls have very similar plumage colors. However, there are some subtle differences between the sexes:
– Females tend to be slightly darker overall, with more brown plumage than males.
– Male burrowing owls generally have more white spotting and barring on the wing feathers.
– Adult male burrowing owls may have a whiter throat than females.
– Females are somewhat larger and heavier than males, although this difference can be difficult to discern visually in the field.
Juvenile burrowing owls have a looser, scraggly appearance to their plumage. The feathers look fluffier and less neatly arranged than adults. Young owls also have buffy edges to the flight feathers which wear down over time. With experience, the subtler differences between ages and sexes can be determined. However, female vs. male burrowing owl plumage differences remain quite minimal.
Regional Variations in Color
While burrowing owl coloration is generally consistent across their range, there are some minor regional variations to note:
– Florida burrowing owls are the lightest subspecies, with more white spotting overall.
– Western burrowing owls of the Great Plains and Southwest have darker brown plumage with less contrasting spotting. Their brown upperparts are more saturated black-brown.
– Burrowing owls found farther south in Mexico and South America are also darker, sooty brown.
– Owls in drier desert climates tend to be more sandy brown and buff colored.
– Northern birds are darker and more heavily barred than southern relatives.
So in summary, burrowing owls tend to be lighter and more spotted in Florida, lighter and sandier colored in the arid Southwest, and darker with heavier barring in northern areas. But in general the differences across subspecies are quite minor.
Functions of Burrowing Owl Feather Colors
The plumage colors of burrowing owls serve a few important functions:
Camouflage
The streaked, spotted, and barred patterns in burrowing owl feathers provide excellent camouflage against grassland soils, dusty banks, and desert sands. The mottled brown, tan, and white colors blend in well with the owls’ open, treeless habitats. The camo helps burrowing owls avoid detection from both predators and prey.
Communication
While male and female burrowing owls look very similar, their subtle plumage differences help the birds recognize each other’s sex. The small variations in color may also communicate things like individual identity, maturity, and fitness during breeding.
Thermoregulation
The loose texture of the owl’s plumage helps insulation, especially combined with the multiple layers of contour feathers beneath the tips. The light coloration also deflects heat from sunlight in open environments.
Wear Protection
The sturdy, interlocking barbs and barbules on burrowing owl flight feathers help protect the wings from abrasion when flying low over rocky and stumpy ground. Dense plumage also protects the owls when poking out of – and entering and exiting – their underground burrows.
So in summary, burrowing owl feather coloration and structure provides camouflage, communication, insulation, and wear protection – all important adaptations to their open, underground habitat.
Conclusion
In conclusion, burrowing owls display rather subtle, cryptic plumage in earthy tones of brown, tan, white and black. The small owls are sprinkled with white spotting and barring on a background of warm brown. Minimal sexual differences exist, while regional variations include lighter Florida birds and darker northern owls. Their feathers serve to provide camouflage, signaling, thermoregulation, and abrasion resistance. So while not the most colorful of owls, the plumage of burrowing owls is perfectly suited to their lifestyle and habitat. Their earth-toned feathers speckled in white, black, brown and tan work elegantly to conceal these little owls on open ground across the Americas.
References
[1] Klute, D.S., Ayers, L.W., Green, M.T., Howe, W.H., Jones, S.L., Shaffer, J.A., Sheffield, S.R. & Zimmerman, T.S. (2003). Status Assessment and Conservation Plan for the Western Burrowing Owl in the United States. U.S. Department of Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[2] Poulin, Ray, Todd Lefebvre, and R.I.G. Morrison. (2001). Diurnal behavior of burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia) in the Canadian prairies. Canadian Journal of Zoology 79: 866-872.
[3] Plumpton, D.L. and Lutz, R.S. (1993). Nesting habitat use by burrowing owls in Colorado. Journal of Raptor Research 27: 175-179.
[4] Kaufman, Kenn. (2001). Lives of North American Birds. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
[5] Valley, Frank. (2009). Burrowing Owl Plumage. BirdNote Radio Script.
