The Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) is one of the few owls that regularly hunts in daylight, gliding low over open ground on slow wingbeats that can resemble a large butterfly. Its bright yellow eyes set in a dark facial mask, together with very short ear tufts usually invisible in the field, distinguish it from the nocturnal Long-eared Owl. It measures 33–40 cm long, with a wingspan of around 95–110 cm and a weight of 230–430 g, and its plumage is light yellowish-brown with heavy dark streaking, densest on the breast and sparser toward the belly; in flight it shows pale, long wings with a dark patch at the wrist and black wingtips. The species is generally silent, though during the spring display flight the male gives a dull, repeated "boo-boo-boo-boo" and can clap its wings beneath its body to produce a slapping sound, while disturbed birds give raspy, barking calls.
Unlike most owls, the Short-eared Owl avoids forest entirely, hunting instead over vast open terrain — mires, heaths, clearcuts and overgrown farmland. In Sweden it is a summer visitor, breeding mainly in the north and more sparsely further south, with a population of roughly 1,000–5,000 pairs that fluctuates enormously from year to year because breeding success depends entirely on small rodent numbers: rich vole years can bring a large influx of birds even into southern Sweden, while poor years can leave the species almost absent. The nest is placed directly on the ground, hidden in a tussock or among low brush, where the female lays 4–8 eggs, sometimes more in good vole years, incubating alone for 26–29 days while the male hunts for her; the young leave the nest and disperse into the vegetation before they can fly. Voles and lemmings make up almost the entire diet. As a migratory summer bird it largely leaves Sweden for winter, though a few remain in mild winters or exceptional rodent years.
Read about this species in Swedish →