burrowing owl

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noun

a long-legged terrestrial owl, Athene cunicularia, of North and South America, that digs a nesting burrow in open prairie land.

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Origin of burrowing owl

An Americanism dating back to 1810–20

Lights strobed through the night and propane cannons fired to ward off rare burrowing owls, tiny San Joaquin kit foxes, antelope squirrels and other wildlife.
Oil Companies Are Profiting From Illegal Spills. And California Lets Them.|by Janet Wilson, The Desert Sun, and Lylla Younes, ProPublica|September 18, 2020|ProPublica
This video remedies that injustice, showcasing an owl doing a butterfly stroke in Lake Michigan.
Swimming Owls, Jane Krakowski’s Peter Pan Live! Audition, and More Viral Videos|The Daily Beast Video|December 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Fernandez-Duque discovered that owl monkeys are the only reliably monogamous mammal species.
P.J. on the Owl-Monkey Project and the Science of Chick Flicks|P. J. O’Rourke|April 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Owl monkey offspring get an inordinate amount of care from their fathers.
P.J. on the Owl-Monkey Project and the Science of Chick Flicks|P. J. O’Rourke|April 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Heads the Owl Monkey Project, which has been studying owl monkeys in Argentina for 18 years.
P.J. on the Owl-Monkey Project and the Science of Chick Flicks|P. J. O’Rourke|April 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But nevertheless, parents should be inspecting the nostrils of their young ones, searching for sugar residue and burrowing larvae.
Parents Panic Over Old Fake Smarties Snorting Craze|Lizzie Crocker|January 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The old owl no longer hooted, and the water-oaks had ceased to moan as they bent their heads.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
And after that Grandfather Mole couldn't resist burrowing in the loose earth now and then.
The Tale of Grandfather Mole|Arthur Scott Bailey
Now under the ivy-laden branches of a tall old tree an owl startles them with its shriek.
Checkmate|Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
On the occasion referred to, some of our men, in their burrowing, threw out a considerable quantity of asbestos.
Asbestos|Robert H. Jones
He peers out through his black-rimmed eyeglasses with the solemnity of an owl—but you should hear his songs!
The Real Latin Quarter|F. Berkeley Smith