The Short-eared Owl is one of the few owls active in daylight, often hunting in late afternoon over open grasslands and marshes with buoyant, moth-like flight. Its tiny ear tufts are usually invisible. It breeds on tundra, prairies, and marshes across the Northern Hemisphere, and populations irrupt southward in winter when vole populations crash in the north.
Habitat
Open grasslands, marshes, tundra, and agricultural fields
Diet
Voles, mice, and other small mammals
How common
Uncommon
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