Burrowing Owls Bait Their Homes with Dung to Attract Beetles

Some of the world's smallest and cutest little owls are burrowing owls. They dwell in tiny holes in the ground, as their name suggests, and are smaller than pigeons. They can't exactly pursue huge animals due to their size, thus they focus on smaller species. They really like dung beetles in particular.

Dung beetles have the drawback of being somewhat predictable. For instance, you must search for excrement if you want to catch one. Right there in the name of the insect. Burrowing owls are aware of this. They comprehend it so well that they have figured out how to bring dung beetles to them rather than going on a hunt and taking risks.

Burrowing owls go outside and gather waste because dung beetles enjoy mammalian dung. They take it back to their burrows and use it as bait to entice dung beetles inside, ensuring that the owls won't have to travel far for food. Experiments disproved the theory that the dung could be used as a cover for a den's scent to keep predators away. Just fishing for beetles, the owls.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Strigiformes
Family: Strigidae
Genus: Athene
Species: A. cunicularia