The Story
I photographed this juvenile Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) at Hacienda La Cabaña, near Tauramena, Casanare, Colombia, in January 2020. Juveniles lack most of the adults’ white spotting and brown barring, and they show a buff bar across the upper wing. Four weeks after hatching, the chicks can make short flights and start leaving the burrow, though the parents keep feeding them for one to three months. It is a small, long-legged owl of open country such as grassland, ranchland and farmland. IUCN lists it as Least Concern, with a stable population.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/800 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200. Tauramena was founded in 1663 by Governor Pedro Ordóñez de Vargas with Achagua people from the Upía and Cusiana rivers.
©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