Animals

Roundish head with no ear tufts; yellow eyes; short bulbous beak. The legs are long and slender and covered with sparse feathers. The short hair-like feathers on the legs terminate in sparse bristles on the feet. The wings are long with the outer three primaries emarginated. The tail is very short and square. The plumage is pale to chocolate-brown, streaked and spotted with white on the back, the wings and tail barred with white. The breast and underparts are white to buff, spotted or barred with brown. The eyebrows and below the beak are white. Juvenile coloration is similar to the adult but not as heavily spotted.
Burrowing owls are very active. When perched, they may bob up and down in a series of bows or occasionally flip into the air. They are the only small owls which habitually perch on the ground. They have become so terrestrial that they are practically flightless and will often run or flatten themselves against the ground, rather than fly, when disturbed.