This open-country hunter is one of the world’s most widely distributed owls and among the most frequently seen in daylight. A true grassland owl, Short-Eared owls live in windswept prairies, meadows, shrubsteppe, and agricultural fields. Don’t look too eagerly for short the ear tufts, which are so short they’re often invisible. Their most striking features are their black-rimmed yellow eyes, like heavy eyeliner, staring out from a pale facial disk. These birds course silently over grasslands on broad, rounded wings, especially at dawn and dusk. They use acute hearing to hunt small mammals and birds, eating most of their prey whole, as with most owls.