Posted by Dan Arndt
Last Saturday evening I made a quick trip to Frank Lake and managed to find a pair of Short-eared Owls displaying and posing in the late day sun.
male Short-eared Owl
female Short-eared Owl
female Short-eared Owl
male Short-eared Owl
male Short-eared Owl calling in flight
Pingback: Birding News #8 | Prairie Birder
These really are great shots, Dan. Well done & great find!
OK, thanks for clarification. I am not familiar with this species but I guess it is similar to Long-eared Owls where gender identification is only possible based on courtship calls. – best regards Thomas
These gender identities are tentative, but no one I sent the photos to seemed to disagree. There’s a lot of variation within the species, but males tend to be pale in the facial disk and on the belly/breast, while females have a much darker reddish or rusty color to the facial disk and belly. Some are very pale rusty (as in the female I have here), but others are a deep maroon or ochre, from what I could find on the web. It’s also quite possible that these are two males, but I’m not certain of that, given the behaviour I observed as well.
– Dan
How could you distinguish male and female?