The burrowing owl is a small, long-legged owl found throughout open landscapes of North and South America. Unlike most owls, burrowing owls are often active during the day. However, most hunting is done at dusk or at night.

Burrowing owls have bright yellow eyes. The bill can be yellow or greenish depending on the subspecies. The legs are incompletely feathered, and the toes are grayish in color. They lack "ear" tufts and have a flattened facial disc. The owls have prominent white eyebrows and a white "chin" patch which they expand and display during certain behaviors.

Burrowing owls are year-round residents in most of their range. Birds that breed in Canada and northern USA usually migrate south to Mexico and southern USA during winter months.

The burrowing owl is endangered in Canada, threatened in Mexico, and a species of special concern in Florida and most of the western USA.

The major reasons for declining populations in North America are control programs for prairie dogs and loss of habitat.

The highly variable diet includes small mammals, small birds, snakes, lizards, frogs, insects, and scorpions. But the owls mainly eat large insects and small rodents. Although burrowing owls often live in close proximity to ground squirrels, they rarely prey upon them. Unlike other owls, they also eat fruits and seeds, especially the fruit of tasajillo and other prickly pear cacti. When hunting they wait on a perch until they spot prey. Then they swoop down on prey or fly up to catch insects in flight. Sometimes they chase prey on foot across the ground.