Skip to main content Skip to navigation
Home
Today's Show: Spring Brings New Bird Songs
House Finch perched on branch, looking over its shoulder showing red-colored head and throat
Listen In
  • Today's Show
  • Listen
    • Daily Shows
    • Threatened
    • Grouse
    • BirdNote Presents
    • How to Listen
  • Explore
    • Field Notes
    • Sights & Sounds
    • Birdwatching
    • Resources for Educators
  • How to Help Birds
    • At Home
    • In Your Community
    • Success Stories
  • About
    • The BirdNote Story
    • The Team
    • Partners
    • For Radio Stations
    • Funding
    • Contact Us
    • FAQs
    • Support BirdNote
  • Donate

Burrowing Owls: Howdy Birds

In some ways, they’re more like rodents than raptors
Subscribe to the Podcast
Download
  • Share This:
  • Share to Facebook
  • Share to Twitter
  • Share to Email
Burrowing Owl family
© Gregg Thompson

A Burrowing Owl is about as big as a can of beans on stilts. Between the long legs, bright yellow eyes, and signature bobbing salute, these little birds are comical members of the western ecosystem. Cowboys riding Western rangelands have a nickname for these little owls. They call them “howdy birds” for the way they bob up and down in front of their nests.

  • Full Transcript
  • Credits

BirdNote®

Burrowing Owls: Howdy Birds

Written by Monica Gokey

This is BirdNote.

Today, we’re looking at an owl that nests underground, lives in colonies, and hides its food. Even the sound it makes is… unusual.

[Hiss of a burrowing owl]

Yipes! The hiss of a Burrowing Owl sounds just like a dangerous rattlesnake, which is a great way to scare off potential predators.

[Burrowing owl -- coo, coooo!]

Unlike most other owls, Burrowing Owls are diurnal: they’re awake during the day and then they sleep at night.

Burrowing Owls often nest in the abandoned underground tunnels of prairie dogs and ground squirrels. And even though their bodies aren’t designed for digging, they can use their beaks to excavate dirt, renovating an existing burrow to meet their needs.

Cowboys riding Western rangelands have a nickname for these little owls. They call them “howdy birds” for the way they bob up and down in front of their nests.

A Burrowing Owl is about as big as a can of beans on stilts. Between the long legs, bright yellow eyes, and signature bobbing salute — these little birds are comical members of the western ecosystem.

So If you ever find yourself on the open rangelands of the West, be sure to tip your hat to the Burrowing Owl. You may get a bobbing “howdy” in reply.

For BirdNote, I’m Michael Stein.
                              ###
Producer: John Kessler
Managing Producer: Jason Saul
Editor: Ashley Ahearn
Associate Producer: Ellen Blackstone
Assistant Producer: Mark Bramhill
Narrator: Michael Stein
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2019 BirdNote   July 2019
ID#  BUOW-04-2019-07-19    BUOW-04

Monica Gokey
Writer
Michael Stein
Narrator
Gregg Thompson
Photographer
Support More Shows Like This
Tagsvocalization owl

Related Resources

Burrowing Owl - More at All About BirdsBurrowing Owl – More at the Audubon Guide to North American Birds

More About These Birds

Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia)

Athene cunicularia

Sights & Sounds

Related Field Notes

February 10, 2020

Tweets 'n' Squawks: Learn How to Identify Birds by Song

By Adam Sedgley
Nothing signals spring quite like singing birds.
December 18, 2017

What does it take to record the world’s birds?

By Gerrit Vyn

Birds connect us with the joy and wonder of nature. By telling vivid, sound-rich stories about birds and the challenges they face, BirdNote inspires listeners to care about the natural world – and take steps to protect it.

Support BirdNote

  • Daily Shows
  • Field Notes
  • BirdNote Presents
  • Sights & Sounds
  • About BirdNote
  • Contact BirdNote
Sign up for our newsletter!
  • BirdNote on Facebook
  • BirdNote on Twitter
  • BirdNote on Instagram

Copyright 2021. All rights reserved.

  • Privacy Policy