The owls raise only one brood each season. Nesting on the ground, the young are especially vulnerable to predators, including skunks, opossums, rattlesnakes and man, the most dangerous enemy. Young birds begin to explore about 10 days after birth, and begin to fly at between 40 and 45 days old. The young stay with the parents about 4 to 5 months before leaving the nest. An amazing defense mechanism that owlets possess is their ability to perfectly imitate the rattling sound of a prairie rattlesnake.
Most burrowing owls tend to hunt during the day and the owl's call sounds similar to a dove.
Being a very small bird it eats moths, a choice prey and they also hunt mice, rats, ground squirrels, young cottontails, gophers, shrews, lizards and snakes. Sometimes they grab bats and dragonflies in mid-air. They increase their hunting prowess by following a dog or horse to take advantage of any animals stirred up from the grass. Canada designated their status as endangered. The burrowing owl made the Canadian Species at Risk List in 1978 when classified as Threatened.