THE GALAPAGOS OWL - SHORT-EARED OWL

It lives at altitudes up to 850 m above sea level and rests mostly in the shade on the ground, occasionally in crevices of the lava rock. It is most likely to be spotted on fence posts or rocks in the morning. The owl feeds mainly on small birds such as Darwin’s finches, red-footed booby chicks and Galapagos pigeons. Its hunting technique is very specialized – it approaches the nests of other birds and strikes them when they try to enter or leave their nests. Besides birds, it also eats rats, mice, insects, and smaller reptiles. Prey usually dies during impact or by biting the head or neck. Birds that are captured are killed by biting off first their heads and then their wings. In larger birds, the owl eats only the breast meat. If the short-eared owl can show a surplus of food, it places the remaining prey in its nest and eats it at a later time. The mating season takes place from November to May. Three to four white eggs are then laid in a small depression on the ground, often between the roots of a tree trunk or between lava rocks. Mostly only two small owls grow up, which are hatched before by the mother alone. The father provides the family with food during this time. After fledging, the young spend several weeks with their parents.