# Short-eared owl (*Asio flammeus*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/short-eared-owl  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The short-eared owl (Asio flammeus) is a bird in the owl family Strigidae, order Strigiformes, and is also called the Bog owl, Marsh owl, Prairie owl or Flat-faced owl. It is a small, migratory carnivore of grassland habitat with an aerial lifestyle, an adult body mass of 322.6 g and a wingspan of 1.02 m. Clutches hold 6 eggs, incubation lasts 25.35 days, and sexual maturity is reached at 364.6 days. The IUCN Red List assesses it as Least Concern, not a threatened category, and its lifespan is given as 12.9 years, with reported values up to 21.8 years.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 292.8 g – 378 g |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 1.02 m |
| Lifespan | 12.9 years |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 21.8 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | grassland |
| Egg incubation | 25.4 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 6 |
| Age at maturity | 12 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1.25 |
| Lifestyle | Aerial |
| Migration | Migratory |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Strigiformes
- family: Strigidae
- genus: Asio
- species: *Asio flammeus* (Pontoppidan, 1763)

Synonyms: *Ascalaphus subauritus*, *Asio accipitrinus*, *Asio accipitrinus*, *Asio accipitrinus*, *Asio brachyotos*, *Brachyotus gmelinii*, *Brachyotus palustris*, *Brachyotus palustris europaeus*, *Otus microcephalus*, *Strix brachyotus*, *Strix brachyotus*, *Strix flammea*, *Strix orchracea*, *Strix otus minor*, *Strix palustris*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the short-eared owl?

The short-eared owl is a bird, an owl in the family Strigidae and order Strigiformes.

### How big is the short-eared owl?

It is a small owl with an adult body mass of 322.6 g, reported from 292.8 g to 378 g, and a wingspan of 1.02 m.

### What does the short-eared owl eat?

The short-eared owl is a carnivore.

### Is the short-eared owl endangered?

No. The IUCN Red List assesses it as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does the short-eared owl live?

Its lifespan is given as 12.9 years, with reported values up to 21.8 years.

### How many eggs does the short-eared owl lay?

A clutch holds 6 eggs, with 1.25 clutches per year, and incubation lasts 25.35 days.

### Does the short-eared owl migrate?

Yes, the short-eared owl is migratory.

### Who named the short-eared owl?

The scientific name Asio flammeus is credited to (Pontoppidan, 1763).

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), CC BY 4.0, v7. Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Short-eared owl (Asio flammeus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/short-eared-owl