Burrowing Owl

First of all thanks to for giving me permission to use her lovely photo!  See the original here: edgedfeather.deviantart.com/ar…
And take a look at the rest of her gallery also!

The Burrowing Owl, Athene cunicularia, is closely related to the well-known Eurasian Little Owl, Athene noctua, but lives in the Americas.  It differs in having longer legs and a quite different lifestyle!  This owl is perhaps the most terrestrial of all the owls.  They inhabit prairie, desert and other open country with low or sparse vegetation.  Their long legs enable them to run quite fast.  They use burrows to nest, rest and retreat into.  They usually use holes excavated by digging animals like prairie dogs, but can do their own digging if necessary.  They have another specialty, hissing and rattling like a rattlesnake if threatened!  This may scare predators away.  These owls are more active during the daytime than most other owls, but do most of their hunting at night.  Apart from small animals they also eat fruit and seeds, again very unusual for an owl.  Lastly, they often line their underground nests with cattle dung!  This helps insulate the nests apparently, and also attracts insects the owls can catch.

Watercolour, about A3 in size.