Even though all owls are considered birds of prey, it’s hard to believe the burrowing owl (Athene cuncicularia floridiana) fits into that category. After all, he is about the size of a robin and weighs about seven ounces—less than a fully accessorized cheeseburger.

He has long featherless legs, a short stubby tail, and a serious but rather humorous expression on his round, wide-eyed face. His light brown color is accented by white and black facial feathers that are sometimes mistaken for eyebrows, a mustache, and a chin strap. Other parts of his tiny feathered body are also embellished with brown and white spots and bars.

Like other owls, this guy’s large yellow eyes cannot move from side to side. That means he has to turn his head whenever he wants to see what’s going on to his left or to his right. But unlike most of his cousins, the burrowing owl cannot see very well in the dark. That’s why he does most of his business during daylight hours.

He has another trait that sets him apart from the rest of the owl family. As his name suggests, the burrowing owl does not live in a hole in a tree. He lives in a hole in the ground.

Sometimes he’ll use a pre-owned, underground burrow that was abandoned by an armadillo or a tortoise. But if the soil is soft and free of rocks, the owl will usually dig his own burrow. The excavation may take up to two days, but when it is finished it can be five feet long and three feet underground.

Burrowing owls are usually monogamous and once paired they will continue to use the same nest for several years, as long as it remains safe and secure. Breeding usually occurs in the spring after a flurry of courtship behaviors that includes bowing, scratching, preening, and cooing.

To impress his prospective mate even further, sometimes the male performs aerobatics. This includes zooming up to an altitude of about one hundred feet, hovering there like a helicopter for five seconds, and then plunging back toward earth. Fifty feet from the ground he pulls up sharply and then hovers like a feathery ‘copter.

An amorous male will repeat these rocket-‘copter flights over and over, until he and his lady are both dizzy with love.

After a brief honeymoon, a clutch of six to twelve eggs is laid in the burrow’s nesting chamber. The female incubates the eggs for about a month. During that time, the male makes sure the female has an ample supply of food. When he isn’t gathering snacks for the mama-to-be, the expectant papa is standing guard at the burrow’s entrance.

When the chicks hatch about thirty days later, their eyes are still closed and they are covered with white downy feathers. Mama and papa share parenting duties as long as the chicks remain in the nest.

As the offspring grow, the parents continue to feed the chicks for several months. By the end of the first year, the new generation is ready to start its own family.

Burrowing owls, like many other owls, have a very open menu. They’ll eat insects like spiders, beetles, and grasshoppers. They’ll eat mammals like rats, bats, gophers, and snakes. They’ll also eat a variety of fruits and seeds.

They have a variety of attack modes when it comes to catching their prey. With grasshoppers, beetles and other ground-dwelling insects, the owl simply runs them down on foot. Airborne insects are grabbed during air-to-air combat.

At other times, a burrowing owl will squat patiently on a tree limb and wait for something to mosey by below. Then, as silently as his bigger cousins, he’ll swoop down, snatch up his prey, and carry it back to his hungry family.

Burrowing owls are skillful flyers but their technique is not always as smooth as other birds of prey. Sometimes their wing beats are stiff and jerky. Sometimes they make long glides that are broken up by rapid wing flaps. Sometimes the wing beats are even asynchronous. One wing may be flapping up while the other is flapping down. And, as mentioned before, the burrowing owl is also able to hover briefly, like a chubby, ungainly humming bird.

Some ornithologists say this kritter is one of the most vocal of all the owls. They insist he has thirteen distinctly different calls. In addition to the traditional “hoo-hoo” that most owls use, the burrowing owl’s other sounds have been described as screams, chatters, buzzes, clucks, thuts, and clacks.

These sounds have many different purposes. They can be used to attract owls of the opposite sex. They can be used as a warning to potential burrow intruders. They can also be used as a cry of alarm, to alert nearby neighbors of a potential threat to all.

Burrowing owls can be found throughout Florida but unlike most protected species, they prefer urban developments instead of wilderness areas. Southwest Florida in particular has become a favored place to live, especially the City of Cape Coral in Lee County.

Cape Coral residents are so enamored by this little kritter that they even hold a Burrowing Owl Festival every spring. But throughout the year, photographers and wildlife lovers from all parts of the globe come to Cape Coral to observe and take pictures of this appealing little guy.

The City of Cape Coral also promotes a “Starter Burrow” program that provides instructions on how to attract these miniature hooters by creating artificial burrows.

Like many other Florida birds, the burrowing owl has picked up a long list of nicknames. In some areas he is called the Ground Owl; in others, the Prairie Dog Owl. Howdy Owl, Cuckoo Owl, Gopher Owl, and Tunnel Owl are a few of his other Florida names.

Even though they are common in Cape Coral, burrowing owls are listed by Florida’s wildlife agencies as a species of special concern. That means they are protected by state law, and have been since 1979. The law says neither the owl nor its nesting burrow and eggs can be harassed, injured or disturbed in any way.

Today, in addition to Cape Coral, burrowing owls can also be observed in the Withlacoochee State Forest, Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area, and Lake Kissimmee State Park.