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RANGE: Resident from southwestern British Columbia, southern
Idaho, and Montana east to southern Vermont and Massachusetts
south through the United States to South America. Northernmost
populations are partially migratory, wintering south to southern
Mexico and the West Indies.
STATUS: Uncommon; overall population level is low, but stable.
North American birds represented by T.a. pratincola subspecies.
HABITAT: Found in open to semi-open habitats such as prairie,
farmland, savannah, marshland, and desert, but prefers the
vicinity of farms and towns. Avoids woodlands and higher
elevations.
SPECIAL HABITAT REQUIREMENTS: Abundant supply of small mammals
for food, and hollow trees, old buildings, barns, cavities, or
caves for nesting and roosting. Strongest nesting habitat
association with urban and residential areas and the edges of
cropland, pasture and orchard.
NEST: Nests in a variety of sites, but does not construct a
nest. Favors natural tree hollows, especially in live oaks near
a marshy meadow. Typically nests in old barns, church and school
steeples, silos, or abandoned buildings. Also uses protected
ledges along cliff faces, abandoned underground burrows of
badgers, woodchucks, or other mammals, caves, cavities in high
stream banks (8 to 10 feet above water level), abandoned nests
of crows, hawks, or magpies, and artificial nest sites. Will
return to the same nest site year after year if undisturbed.
FOOD: Hunts by night over marshes, meadows, fields, barnyards,
brushy areas, pastures, and other open areas for small mammals,
especially mice, and occasionally small birds and large insects.
Also eats some frogs, snakes, lizards, and crayfish.
REFERENCES: Adamus et al. 2001, Coats in Farrand 1983b, DeGraff
et al. 1980, Hawbecker 1945, Heintzelman 1979, Johnsgard 1979,
Karalus and Eckert 1974, Marshall et al. 2003, Miller 1999,
Shunk 2004, Tate and Tate 1982. |
