Name:Asio flammeus
Outline:Bird of prey
Family:Strigiformes Owl
length:34.4-39.8cm
Weight:251-450g
Life:About 10-20 years
IUCN:LC
Short-eared Owl, also known as Short-eared Owl in English, has 10 subspecies.
Short-eared owls mainly feed on rodents, but also eat small birds, lizards and insects, and occasionally eat plant fruits and seeds.
Short-eared owls are winter migratory birds and resident birds in eastern Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang and Liaoning, and winter migratory birds in other provinces and regions.
The breeding season of short-eared owls is from April to June. Usually nests in grass near swamps, and also nests in rotten wood holes in secondary broad-leaved forests. The nest is usually made of dead grass. Each nest lays 3-8 eggs, occasionally up to 10, or even 14, but usually 4-6. The eggs are white, oval, and 38-42 mm × 31-33 mm in size. The female bird incubates the eggs, and the incubation period is 24-28 days. The chicks are late-maturing, and can fly after being fed by the parents for 24-27 days after hatching.
Listed as a Class II protected animal in the Washington Convention.
China's national key protection level: Class II.
Listed in the 2012 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species ver 3.1 - Least Concern (LC).
Listed in the second level of the China National Key Protected Wildlife List.