Afghanistan (P), Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Armenia (B), Austria (B) (NB), Azerbaijan (B) (NB), Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus (B) (NB), Belgium (B) (NB) (P), Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina (B), Brazil, Bulgaria (NB), Canada (B) (NB) (P), Cayman Islands, Chile, China (mainland) (B), Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia (Local Name: Hrvatska) (B) (NB), Cuba, Cyprus (NB), Czech Republic (B) (NB), Denmark (B) (NB) (P), Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Eritrea, Estonia (B) (NB), Ethiopia, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Faroe Islands, Finland (B) (NB) (P), France (B) (NB) (P), French Guiana, Georgia (B), Germany (B) (NB) (P), Greece (B) (NB) (P), Guam (NB), Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Hungary (B) (NB) (P), Iceland (B) (NB), India, Iran [Islamic Republic of], Iraq (NB) (P), Ireland (B) (NB), Israel (B), Italy (NB), Japan, Jordan (P), Kazakhstan (B), Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan (B), Laos, Latvia (B), Lebanon, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Lithuania (B) (NB), Luxembourg, Macedonia [The Former Yugoslav Republic of] (B) (NB), Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands (NB), Mauritania, Mexico, Micronesia [Federated States of] (B) (NB), Moldova [Republic of] (B) (NB), Mongolia (B), Montenegro (B), Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands (B) (NB), North Korea, Northern Mariana Islands (NB), Norway (B), Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Poland (B) (P), Portugal (NB), Puerto Rico, Qatar, Romania (B) (NB), Russia (Asian) (B), Russia (Central Asian) (B), Russia (European) (B), Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia (B), Slovakia (Slovak Republic) (B) (NB), Slovenia, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, South Korea, Spain (B) (NB), St Pierre and Miquelon (B) (NB) (P), Sudan, Suriname (B), Sweden (B) (NB) (P), Switzerland, Taiwan (China), Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey (B) (NB), Turkmenistan (B), Ukraine (B) (NB) (P), United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom (B) (NB), United States Minor Outlying Islands (NB), Uruguay (B), USA (B), Uzbekistan (B), Venezuela, Vietnam.
Vagrant to Belize, Bermuda, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, Gibraltar, Greenland, Hong Kong (China), Kenya, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Malaysia, Niger, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, Virgin Islands (U.S.), Yemen.
Population
Estimated population is 2,000,000 (2010).
Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) [XC281251]
by Bruce Lagerquist from Hornborgasj\u00f6n, V\u00e4stra G\u00f6taland, Belgium (call)
Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) [XC522973]
by Jarek Matusiak from , Norway (call, possible copulation)
Nest
Shallow scrape on the ground, lined roughly with vegetation.
Eggs (Guide)
4 - 8; smooth, white. Incubation: about 26 days; by female.
Subspecies
Morphologically similar to Long-eared Owl (Asio otus), but recent studies of proteins indicate unusually large genetic distance between them. Sometimes thought to be closely related to Marsh Owl (Asio capensis), which replaces it ecologically in Africa, but resemblance seems superficial and probably due to convergence, and vocalizations very different. Much darker subspecies galapagoensis possibly specifically distinct. Subspecies domingensis was formerly considered a separate species, including portoricensis as a subspecies. Alternatively, these two have been considered a single subspecies of present species.
The following 11 subspecies are recognised:
flammeus (Pontoppidan, 1763) - Breeds Iceland, British Is, and locally through Europe and Asia east to Kamchatka and Commander Is, south to Spain, Caucasus, north-eastern Mongolia and north-eastern China. Also North America from western and northern Alaska through Canada and south to central USA.
ponapensis Mayr, 1933 - Pohnpei I, in eastern Caroline Is.
sandwichensis (Bloxam, A, 1827) - Hawaiian Is.
domingensis (Müller, PLS, 1776) - Hispaniola. Also (possibly this race) Cuba.
The Reader's Digest Book of British Birds 1980, 3rd Edition, Drive Publications Ltd ISBN 0 340 25308 8
Birds in Colour Campbell, B., 1960, Penguin Books Ltd
The Pocket Guide to Nest and Eggs Fitter, R.S.R., 1954, Collins
RSPB Handbook of British Birds Holden, P., Cleeves, T., 2002, A & C Black ISBN 0 7136 5713 8
Birds of Britain and Europe Sterry, P., et al., 2001, AA Publishing ISBN 0 7495 3068 5
The Popular Handbook of British Birds Hollom, P.A.D., 1973, H.F. & G. Witherby Ltd ISBN 0 85493 002 7
BirdLife International Species Factsheet