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A15
LOCAL Tuesday 3 sepTember 2019

Habitat destruction: The Aruban Borrowing Owl Episode XXXIII

Continued from Page 14

Standing about 7-10 inches tall, this lit-
tle owl gets its name from where it lives.
Burrowing owls are often found in aban-
doned rodent burrows, old tubes, most
often the dig a nest in sand mounds. Far
from trees, they nest and live near their
burrows. Their brown-mottled feathers
help them blend in to the surrounding
landscape where they dine on insects,
small mammals, and sometimes reptiles
and amphibians.
Burrowing owls can be difficult to spot
if they are not moving. In addition to
their ability to naturally camouflage
with their environment, an owl appears
from a distance to be just another prai-
rie dog standing sentry near its under-
ground home. An observer must care-
fully scan a prairie dog colony with bin-
oculars, looking carefully for any move-
ments from the owls. The reward may
be seeing the little dancing hops the
owls sometimes do as they bob around
on their long legs.
Burrowing owls catch food as they walk
or run along the ground, and some-
times snatch insects in midair as they
fly just above the surface. Much of their
food sources are available during the Native artistic interpretations of a Shoco and a Cascabel Owl and Rattlesnake
day, but they are also active at night.q