Want to know more about Burrowing Owls, or "howdy birds”? Boost your knowledge and become a know-it-owl on these charming birds this Owloween! https://bit.ly/3DYWjSG | National Audubon Society

Burrowing Owls were sometimes called "howdy birds," because they seem to nod in greeting from the entrances to their burrows. | National Audubon Society

The burrowing owl isn't your average owl: It doesn't live in trees, and it's not nocturnal. It makes its nest underground — usually in abandoned rodent burrows — and is active both day and night. Once widespread in California and commonly nested in grasslands throughout low elevation areas of the state, these owls are in danger of being wiped out. Human population explosion has reduced the charismatic western burrowing owl's breeding populations by more than 60 percent, and counting. So this wee