Burrowing owl: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the burrowing owl lives – recorded in 18 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Athene cunicularia
Group	Owls
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	18 countries
Continents	North America, South America
Class	Bird
Order	Strigiformes
Family	Strigidae

Where does the burrowing owl live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the burrowing owl in 18 countries and territories across North America and South America. Wikidata gives its range as: Brazil, South America.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the burrowing owl endangered?

The burrowing owl’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the burrowing owl?

The burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia) is a bird in the order Strigiformes and the family Strigidae, genus Athene. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the burrowing owl

The burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia) is a small, long-legged, primarily terrestrial—though not flightless—species of owl native to the open landscapes of North and South America. They are typically found in grasslands, rangelands, agricultural areas, deserts, or any other open, dry area with low vegetation. They nest and roost in burrows, and, despite their common name, do not often construct these dwellings themselves, rather repurposing disused burrows or tunnels previously excavated and inhabited by other species, such as American badgers (Taxidea taxus), foxes (Vulpes sp.), ground squirrels or prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.), among others.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Burrowing owl (revision 1380657386), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q467068 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).