A Florida Barred Owl
Strix varia
Photo credit: US Army Corp of Engineers

The Endangered Birds of Florida

The Florida Owls

To begin: what is a Bird?

A Bird is a warm blooded, bipedal (two legs)

vertebrate (has a backbone) with feathers,

bills and wings and most can fly.

It lays eggs to reproduce and many theories have

it classified as a direct descendant of Dinosaurs,

dating back to the Jurassic period.

Some of the following information is from SECO

These Owls have been found in Florida:

*Resident      *Visitor

*Barn, *Barred, *Burrowing, *Eastern Screech, *Great Horned,

*Long Eared, *Northern Saw-Whet, *Short Eared and *Snowy.

(Only the Burrowing Owl is Endangered and it was the subject of the movie Hoot)

In the Seminole language, Owl is  o - pa.

A Great Horned Owl
Bubo virginianus
Photo credit: Peter Manidis

These magnificent birds of prey have a diet that helps keep

the rodent population under control in Florida as

they eat mice, rats, skunks, snakes and of course

the very tasty Palmetto Bug, for which I personally

want to thank every single Owl for doing~

A Barn Owl
Tyto alba

Another most impressive statistic,

one Barn Owl can eat over a 1,ooo mice in a year!

Owls are able to capture so many night creatures because

of a special feather construction, which quiets their flight

and enables them to sneak up on even their fastest prey.

A Long Eared Owl at Cape Canaveral/Kennedy Space Center
Asio otus
Photo credit: NASA

Their big eyes, great hearing and ability to rotate their heads

nearly full circle, gives them even more advantage and

make these birds one of the best hunters in the world.

A Florida Burrowing Owl
Athene cunicularia floridana
Photo credit: Tom Friedel

Owls are not only beautiful to look at, but they also help keep our

environment from becoming overrun with harmful insects.

A Burrowing Owl
Athene cunicularia floridana

A Burrowing Owl
Athene cunicularia floridana
Photo credit: Sharyn Hood/FFWC

For a better look at this particular Owl, try to find the movie Hoot, it is,

as its name implies, great fun and filled with details about the Burrowing  Owl.

To insure the future for all of our Owls and thank them for their service,

we need to prevent their natural Habitats from being stolen by

developers with only concrete and dollars on their minds.

Places to learn more:

Boreal Songbird Initiative

Barred Owl

The Florida Burrowing Owl Project

The Florida Burrowing Owl

Florida's Burrowing Owl

Burrowing Owl