Short-eared Owl

The Short-eared Owl is a medium-sized, mottled tawny-brown owl of open landscapes, notable among owls for being frequently active in daylight, especially at dawn and dusk. Its ear tufts are so short they are rarely visible, giving the head a smooth, rounded look with striking pale yellow eyes ringed in black.

In flight, the wings appear long and rounded with a bold buffy patch and dark carpal mark on the underwing, and the flight itself is distinctive - low, floppy, and irregular, likened to a giant moth coursing over the grass.

One of the most widespread owls in the world, it breeds across much of the Northern Hemisphere and irrupts nomadically in years of high vole abundance.

Key Field Marks

• Very short, usually invisible ear tufts
• Pale yellow eyes set in black patches, giving a startled expression
• Streaked, mottled buff-brown plumage, more heavily streaked on males' breast
• Bold buffy wing patch and dark carpal comma visible on the underwing in flight
• Low, buoyant, floppy flight over open ground, often in daylight

Similar Species

• Long-eared Owl has tall, visible ear tufts, orange (not yellow) eyes, and is strictly nocturnal, roosting in dense trees rather than hunting over open ground by day.
• Northern Harrier shares open-country, low-flight habits but is a hawk with a slim body, long tail, and white rump patch, lacking the owl's round head and buoyant wingbeats.

Short-eared Owls breed in treeless open country - Arctic and alpine tundra, prairie grasslands, coastal marshes, and reclaimed agricultural land - across North America, Europe, and Asia. They winter in open fields, marshes, and grasslands farther south.

This species is famously nomadic, with numbers shifting year to year in response to vole population cycles; areas with abundant rodents can attract many owls in an irruption year, while the same site may hold none the next.

Behavior

More diurnal and crepuscular than most owls, Short-eared Owls hunt over open fields in daylight with slow, floppy wingbeats interspersed with glides, quartering low over the vegetation like a giant moth or harrier.

Voice

The male's display call is a muffled, hollow "boo-boo-boo-boo" given during flight displays over the breeding territory. Both sexes give a sharp, barking "waow" or hissing alarm calls near the nest.

Feeding

Voles are the dietary staple, supplemented by other small mammals and occasionally small birds; owls locate prey largely by sound while flying low and drop feet-first onto it in the grass.

Nesting & Breeding

Unusual among owls, this species nests directly on the ground in a shallow scrape concealed by vegetation. Clutch size varies with prey abundance, typically 4-9 eggs, sometimes more in vole-rich years, and males perform dramatic wing-clapping display flights to defend territory and attract mates.