The Story
I photographed this Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) at Hacienda La Cabaña, near Tauramena, Casanare, Colombia, in January 2020. It is a small, long-legged owl of open country such as grassland, ranchland and farmland. Its long legs let it sprint after prey on the ground. It has no ear tufts, and it flares its white eyebrows and chin patch when it bobs its head in agitation. It mainly eats large insects and small rodents, and it is especially fond of termites, katydids, crickets and grasshoppers. IUCN lists it as Least Concern, with a stable population.
I used a Pentax K-1 with the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 for this one, at 1/200 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200. In parts of South America it is expanding its range because of deforestation.
©2020 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) belongs to the family Strigidae (Owls) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2025), with the population trend listed as stable. Source: IUCN Red List