While I grimace at the word "cute" a little, here's the second in my series of "cute" owl images lol. I've been reworking my (circa 2010) owls project in preparation to do a second owls set. One of the owls I was never that happy with was the burrowing owls (which is one of my favorite owls). For those familiar with the original set, the changes I made in this set are clearly present in this image. The Burrowing Owl breeds across the grassland regions of southern Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. They occur in all states west of the Mississippi Valley, breed south through the western and mid-western States. A separate subspecies is found in Florida and the Caribbean Islands. They extend south into Mexico, Central America and South America but populations have declined in many areas due to human-caused habitat loss or alteration. Birds from the northern part of the U.S. and Canada are migratory. They are commonly found in open, dry grasslands, agricultural and range lands, and desert habitats often associated with burrowing animals, particularly prairie dogs, ground squirrels and badgers. They feed on a wide variety of prey, changing food habits as location and time of year determine availability. Large arthropods, mainly beetles, termites and grasshoppers, comprise a large portion of their diet. Small mammals, especially mice, rats, gophers, and ground squirrels, are also important food items. Unlike other owls, they also eat fruits and seeds, especially the fruit of Tesajilla and prickly pear cactus. The burrowing owl is endangered in Canada, threatened in Mexico, and a species of special concern in Florida and most of the western United States. It is a state endangered species in Colorado. It is common and widespread in open regions of many Neotropical countries, where they sometimes even inhabit fields and parks in cities. While North American populations are in decline, regions bordering the Amazon Rainforest they are spreading due to deforestation. The major reasons for declining populations in North America are control programs for prairie dogs and loss of habitat, although burrowing owls readily inhabit some anthropogenic landscapes, such as airport grasslands or golf courses. Where the presence of burrowing owls conflicts with development interests, a passive relocation technique has been applied successfully: rather than capturing the birds and transporting them to a new site (which may be stressful and prone to failure), the owls are half-coerced, half-enticed to move on their own accord (which has had moderately successful results). Burrowing owls are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act in Canada, the United States, and Mexico and any harm done to them is punishable as a felony. Rendered in Poser 2014 without any post work. Models include the Rocky Flats model (First Bastion) with my own textures, Rocks (rDNA), Dried Shrubs (Lisa's Botanicals) and my Burrowing Owls (Ken Gilliland).