TYPICAL OWLS: Family Strigidae [ 347 ] 



Western Burrowing Owl: 



Speofyfo cunicularia hyfugaea (Bonaparte) 



DESCRIPTION. "Tail only about half as long as wing; tarsus more than twice as 

 long as middle toe, scantily feathered in front, bare behind; toes bristly. Adults: 

 Upper parts dull earth brown, spotted and barred with white and buffy; under parts 

 mainly buffy barred with brown. Young: under parts mainly buffy, unmarked; 

 upper parts plain brown except wings and tail, which are as in adults [Plate 6z]. 

 Length: 9-11, wing 5.80-7.2.0, tail 3.15-3.50, bill .55-. 60." (Bailey) Nest: Usually 

 an old rodent burrow or similar excavation. Eggs: 6 to n, white. 

 DISTRIBUTION. General: Breeds from Pacific Coast east to Minnesota and Iowa and 

 from British Columbia and Manitoba south to Central America. In Oregon: Breeds 

 throughout eastern Oregon, except in higher mountains, and in Rogue River Valley. 

 Straggler only elsewhere in western Oregon. Largely migratory in eastern Oregon, 

 although a few individuals may remain through winter. 



THE WESTERN BURROWING OWL, a curiously long-legged little bird, is a 

 familiar sight in the lower sections of eastern Oregon as well as in the 

 pasture lands of the Rogue River Valley. Often it may be seen perched 

 on the fence posts or sitting by the open mouth of an old rodent burrow. 

 It was first reported for Oregon by Townsend (1839). Newberry (1857), 

 Cassin (1856), Suckley (1860), and Bendire (1875) all found it in eastern 

 Oregon, and many subsequent writers have listed it from various places 

 there. There are many references to it in the field notes of Biological 

 Survey members who have worked eastern Oregon, and these, combined 

 with our own material, show it to be present in every county east of the 

 Cascades but most abundant in Wasco, Morrow, Umatilla, Malheur, 

 Harney, and Lake Counties. Although a few individuals may remain 

 during the winter, it is largely migratory in eastern Oregon, where it is 

 present from April (earliest date, March 2.0, Baker County) to October 

 (latest date, October 31, Wasco County). 



Woodcock (1901) reported four specimens from Corvallis and stated on 

 the authority of Prill that the species bred in Linn County, and Shelton 

 (1917) recorded it as found sparingly in Lane County and considered it a 

 probable resident. It is a regular inhabitant of the prairie district north 

 and east of Medford, Jackson County, and a more or less irregular strag- 

 gler to the Willamette Valley, where three birds in Jewett's collection 

 from the Corvallis Game Farm were taken on October 19, November i, 

 .and January 10. 



The eggs are laid in April and early May in the old burrows of ground 

 squirrels and other digging rodents. We find the following egg dates in 

 our own notes and those of Braly: April 16 (4 eggs), May n (5 young 

 and 2. addled eggs), May n (8 eggs), and June xo (large young). One 

 nest excavated by Jewett on April n, 1932., near Boardman, contained no 

 eggs as yet but four kangaroo rats, two pocket mice, two lizards, and 

 one horned toad, all freshly killed. Patterson reported nests in Jackson 

 County, April 16, and May 4, 12., and 18, 192.5. 



