Don Baccus wrote:

"I'm reading something written in the last quarter of the 19th century
the Great Plains, and there's talk of the "prairie owl". I know that
this list has a few members who probably remember that era :) Anyone
know offhand if this would refer to burrowing or short-eared owl? (the
two choices that come to mind)."


Don,=20

I grabbed my copy of Lawrence Bruner's "Notes on some Nebraska Birds" =
(1896; signed by the author with compliments to a former owner - Charles =
Bendire!):

Bruner's information is that the Short-eared is resident and rare in =
most regions of the state, although Aughey notes "this owl is frequently =
seen on the borders of the Missouri bottoms in Nebraska". The Burrowing =
owls is listed as "Abundant in central and western Nebraska, and =
sparingly present almost to the Missouri".

When I summered on the prairies of North Dakota in 1978, the burrowing =
owl was the only owl I saw on a regular basis, although I saw screech =
and great horned owls in some of the wooded areas, and found a couple =
nests of the short-eared. The short-eareds I saw in NoDak tended to be =
in places of taller grass - smooth brome and quackgrass (Agropyron =
repens) pastures - rather than in the short/mixed prairie grasses, which =
tended to be blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis) and Stipa. =20

I would imagine that the "prairie owl" you're reading about is the =
Burrowing Owl. Certainly, that's the owl *I* think of when I remember =
my summer on the prairie.

Jon. Anderson
Olympia, Washington
festuca at olywa.net