Globe › Birds › Short-eared owl
Short-eared owl migration Asio flammeus
▶ Follow the short-eared owl across the big globe
Press ▶ to play the year. Line: a simplified typical route, joining the main cluster of GBIF records in each month (adjusted for observer effort).
| Scientific name | Asio flammeus |
|---|---|
| Wingspan | 102 cm |
| IUCN status | Least concern |
| Records mapped | 409,508 (GBIF) |
| GPS / geolocator tracks | none with an open licence yet |
Facts from Wikidata Q25769 (CC0).
When does the short-eared owl arrive in the UK?
Recorded in the UK in every season, so the records do not show one clear arrival date.
Bars: this species’ share of all UK bird records in GBIF (CC0/CC BY), by month, scaled to the peak month. Based on 25,594 UK records. Weekly counts from the GBIF occurrence search API (country=GB). Dates are read from records, not from a survey, so treat them as a guide.
Migration in the data
409,508 GBIF records (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 licences only) are mapped here, in 1.41° grid cells, month by month.
In Europe and Africa, the centre of the records (adjusted for observer effort) is furthest north in May (about 62°N) and furthest south in January (about 45°N).
Month by month: centre of records in Europe and Africa
| Month | Centre (latitude) | South of the Equator |
|---|---|---|
| January | 45°N | 0% |
| February | 48°N | 0% |
| March | 51°N | 0% |
| April | 57°N | 0% |
| May | 62°N | 0% |
| June | 62°N | 0% |
| July | 62°N | 0% |
| August | 60°N | 0% |
| September | 60°N | 0% |
| October | 54°N | 0% |
| November | 50°N | 0% |
| December | 46°N | 0% |
Tracked birds
No openly licensed (CC0 / CC BY) tracking data package for this species was found in the Movebank Data Repository yet, so only records are shown.
About the short-eared owl
The short-eared owl is a widespread grassland species in the family Strigidae. Owls belonging to genus Asio are known as the eared owls, as they have tufts of feathers resembling mammalian ears. These "ear" tufts may or may not be visible. The short-eared owl will display its tufts when in a defensive pose, although its very short tufts are usually not visible. The short-eared owl is found in open country and grasslands.
From the Wikipedia article “Short-eared owl” (revision 1380782215), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sources
GBIF occurrence records, licence CC0 1.0 or CC BY 4.0 only, observations only (no specimens), filtered with: taxonKey=2497295&license=CC0_1_0&license=CC_BY_4_0&occurrenceStatus=PRESENT&hasGeospatialIssue=false&basisOfRecord=HUMAN_OBSERVATION&basisOfRecord=MACHINE_OBSERVATION&basisOfRecord=OBSERVATION. Monthly queries: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec. GBIF.org (23 October 2026) occurrence data accessed via the GBIF API; a GBIF download DOI is still to be added. Contributing datasets.