Short-eared Owl portrait LRK

Short-eared owl portrait LRK. SEO sheltering from the blistering afternoon sun under a thorny bush in desert scrubland habitat. Little Rann of Kutch, Gujarat, India. 

Short-eared Owl portrait LRK – About Short-eared Owls:

The short-eared owl (Asio flammeus) has one of the most widespread distributions of any bird; found on every continent except Antarctica and Australia. SEO’s breed in Europe, Asia, North and South America, the Caribbean, Hawaii and even the Galápagos Islands. They belong to the genus Asio; known as the eared owls, as they have tufts of feathers resembling ears. The short-eared owl will often display its tufts when threatened or excited, although its very short tufts are usually not typically visible.

SEO’s typically inhabit open country including grassland, desert scrub, moorland, wetland, marshland and coastal areas. They can be seen at any time of the day but are largely crepuscular hunters. They hunt using both sight and sound by flying low over the ground, often hovering before dropping down onto the prey. Their diet consists primarily of rodents but also includes reptiles, birds and insects. 

SEO courtship includes elaborate displays during which the male spirals up into the air, hovers while giving series of short rapid calls, then rapidly dives, clapping his wings together under his body. SEO’s are typically ground nesting birds. The nest is a depression in soil, lined with grass and feathers usually located among tall grass or under a shrub. 

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