Colorado Life Zones: Seasons, Plants, & Animals

Step 1: Choose One of the Life Zones or Choices Below

Semidesert Shrublands Life Zone: Seasons, Plants, & Animals

Step 2: Choose a Topic from the Semidesert Shrublands Life Zone & Scroll Down

General Information

Through the Seasons

Canyonlands and Shrublands

Awesome Adaptations

Plants and Trees

Mammals

Birds

Reptiles & Amphibians

Birds of the Semidesert Shrublands Life Zone

The many steep canyons and mesas in the desert canyonlands provide the perfect place for birds of prey to live and build nests because it is difficult for other predators to get to their eggs. The tall cliffs make it easy to take off from the nest and search for food. They can easily look over the open sage shrublands, canyons, and mesas for other birds, rabbits, rodents, reptiles, and amphibians.

One bird of prey who does not live on cliffs is the burrowing owl. The owls hide in the burrows and tunnels created by prairie dog colonies. They eat the mice, insects, and other small creatures that make the tunnels their home.

Many different types of small birds make their homes in the semidesert shrublands, canyons, and mesas. These birds live off the seeds of desert grasses and sagebrush. There are also plenty of small insects, reptiles, and amphibibians that live in the desert for the birds to eat.

Burrowing Owl

Peregrine Fund

CO Div of Wildlife

Hogle Zoo

Golden Eagle

Peregrine Fund

Mercerburg's Academy

CO Div of Wildlife

Animal Files

Peregrine Falcon

Peregrine Fund

CO Div of Wildlife

Mercerburg's Academy

Red-tailed Hawk

Pergrine Fund

Nature Works

Southwest_Wildlife

Canyon
Wren

All About Birds

Utah Div of Wildlife

Pinyon Jay

All About Birds

Nature Works

CSU NDIS

Gunnison Sage-grouse

Greater Sage-grouse

Nature Works

Utah Div of Wildlife

Gambel's Quail

All About Birds

CSU NDIS

Utah Div of Wildlife

Turkey Vulture

Peregrine Fund

Vulture and Condors

Hogle Zoo

Other Birds

Common Crow
Chukar
Mourning Dove
Black-billed Magpie
Sage Thrasher
Western Scrub Jay
Sage Sparrow
Loggerhead Shrike
Common Nighthawk
Western Bluebird
Horned Lark
Western Kingbird
Many more birds

Awesome Adaptations: Burrowing Owl

Burrowing owls are one of the most interesting owls on the planet. Most other owls like to stay in trees, barns, and other other tall places. But, the burrowing owl chooses to live most of its life on and in the ground. Burrowing owls live by prairie dog colonies. The prairie dogs dig large networks of tunnels underground and the owl comes and hunts them. After finding and eating the prairie dogs, the owl or group of burrowing owls steal the tunnels and live in them. The owls also eat lizards, snakes, insects, mice, and other small animals. When it chooses to sleep, the owl crawls into the prairie dog tunnels and falls asleep underground. The whole idea of an owl that lives underground makes the burrowing owl one of the most amazing birds.

The future population of the burrowing owls depend on the future populations of prairie dogs. Some ranchers and farmers do not like prairie dogs. Horses and cows can really hurt their legs stepping in a prairie dog hole. The prairie dogs can eat the farmer's crop, destroy the root systems of the crops, and mess up irrigation systems. Some farmers and ranchers shoot and poisen the prairie dogs. The poisened meat is than eaten by the owls, hawks, coyotes, or other animal and the poisen finds a new victim. So remember just because some people do not like one animal in the food chain does not mean we should get rid all of them. The loss of the prairie dogs would kill out many other animals like burrowing owls and black-footed ferrets.

Sources of information and to find more information: Peregrine Fund, CO Div of Wildlife, Hogle Zoo