Burrowing owls are small ground-dwelling owl with a round head and no ear tufts. They have white eyebrows, yellow eyes, and long legs. The owl is sandy colored on the head, back, and upper parts of the wings and white-to-cream with barring on the breast and belly and a prominent white chin stripe. They have a rounded head, and yellow eyes with white eyebrows. The young are brown on the head, back, and wings with a white belly and chest. They moult into an adult-like plumage during their first summer. Burrowing owls are comparatively easy to see because they are often active in daylight, and are surprisingly bold and approachable. The females are usually darker than the males.

Burrowing owls generally are active at dusk and dawn, but sometimes at night, also. They are highly terrestrial, and are often seen perched on a mound of dirt, utility or fence post, frequently on one foot. They bob up and down when excited. Flight is with irregular, jerky wingbeats and they will frequently make long glides, interspersed with rapid wingbeats. They hover during hunting and courtship, and may flap their wings asynchronously (not up and down together).