Burrowing Owl - Taxonomy and Systematics | Taxonomy Systematics

Taxonomy and Systematics

The Burrowing Owl is sometimes separated in the monotypic genus Speotyto. This is based on an overall different morphology and karyotype. On the other hand, osteology and DNA sequence data suggests that the Burrowing Owl is just a terrestrial version of the Athene little owls, and it is today placed in that genus by most authorities.

A considerable number of subspecies have been described, but they differ little in appearance and the taxonomy of several needs to be validated. Most subspecies are found in/near the Andes and in the Antilles. Only A. c. hypugaea and A. c. floridana are found in the United States. Although distinct from each other, the relationship of the Floridian subspecies to (and its distinctness from) the Caribbean birds is not quite clear:

A. c. cunicularia : Southern Burrowing Owl – Lowlands of S Bolivia and S Brazil south to Tierra del Fuego. Probably includes partridgei.
A. c. grallaria : Brazilian Burrowing Owl – Central and E Brazil.
A. c. hypugaea : Northern (or Western) Burrowing Owl – S Canada through Great Plains south to Central America.
A. c. floridana : Florida Burrowing Owl – Florida and Bahamas (Caribbean).
A. c. guadeloupensis : Guadeloupe Burrowing Owl – Formerly Guadeloupe and Marie-Galante Islands; extinct (c.1890).
A. c. amaura : Antiguan Burrowing Owl – Formerly Antigua, Saint Kitts, and Nevis Islands; extinct (c.1905).
A. c. troglodytes : Hispaniolan Burrowing Owl – Hispaniola, Gonâve Island, and Beata Island.
A. c. rostrata : Revillagigedo Burrowing Owl – Isla Clarión, Revillagigedo Islands.
A. c. nanodes : Southwest Peruvian Burrowing Owl – SW Peru. Might include intermedia.
A. c. brachyptera : Margarita Burrowing Owl – Isla Margarita. Might include apurensis.
A. c. tolimae : West Colombian Burrowing Owl – W Colombia. Might include carrikeri.
A. c. juninensis : South Andean Burrowing Owl – Andes from Central Peru to NW Argentina. Might include punensis.
A. c. punensis : Puna Burrowing Owl – Altiplano region around Peruvian-Ecuadorian border. Doubtfully distinct from juninensis.
A. c. arubensis : Aruba Burrowing Owl – Aruba.
A. c. intermedia : West Peruvian Burrowing Owl – W Peru. Doubtfully distinct from nanodes.
A. c. minor : Guyanan Burrowing Owl – S Guyana and Roraima region.
A. c. carrikeri : East Colombian Burrowing Owl – E Colombia. Doubtfully distinct from tolimae.
A. c. pichinchae : West Ecuadorean Burrowing Owl – W Ecuador.
A. c. boliviana : Bolivian Burrowing Owl – Bolivian altiplano.
A. c. apurensis : Venezuelan Burrowing Owl – NW Venezuela. Doubtfully distinct from brachyptera.
A. c. partridgei : Corrientes Burrowing Owl – Corrientes Province, Argentina. Probably not distinct from cunicularia.
A. c. guantanamensis : Cuban Burrowing Owl – Cuba and Isla de la Juventud.

A paleosubspecies, A. c. providentiae, has been described from fossil remains from the Pleistocene of the Bahamas. How these birds relate to the extant A. c. floridana – that is, whether they were among the ancestors of that subspecies, or whether they represented a more distant lineage that completely disappeared later – is unknown.

In addition, prehistoric fossils of similar owls have been recovered from many islands in the Caribbean (Barbuda, Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Mona Island, and Puerto Rico). These birds became extinct towards the end of the Pleistocene, probably because of ecological and sea level changes at the end of the last ice age rather than human activity. These fossil owls differed in size from present-day Burrowing Owls, and their relationship to the modern taxon has not been resolved.