Burrowing Owl Burrowing Owl

Athene cunicularia

Preferring to live in a basement is leading to the decline of Kansas’ burrowing owl population.

The 10-inch-tall birds usually live in abandoned prairie dog dens, and with fewer prairie dog towns, we have fewer burrowing owls.

Burrowing owls mainly eat insects, but take the occasional small bird that is usually spotted from a perch atop a prairie dog mound or maybe a nearby fence post.

Though they simply set up housekeeping in old prairie dog holes, burrowing owls are known to sometimes spruce things up a bit by lining their new digs with shredded cattle manure.