Eastern Screech-Owl
Megascops asio
Summary 5
Eastern Screech Owls are the smallest and most common owls at the Arboretum - they're about the size of a robin, but much chunkier. Most individuals in our area are gray, but a few are rusty red. The two color morphs can interbreed. Screech owls are very hard to spot during the day except during the nesting season (March - May) at their nest boxes. Females sleep inside the nest, while males roost in branches near the nest box and are somewhat easier to see. Fledglings leave the nest by mid-May and stay near their parents for a few months. Screech owls are here all year, but are mostly nocturnal, so when it isn't the nesting season you're more likely to hear them calling after sunset. They make high-pitched, descending whinny calls and monotone trills.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Wolfgang Wander, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eastern_Screech_Owl.jpg
- (c) Michael Hodge, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://www.flickr.com/photos/27142448@N00/2219092451
- (c) Hunter Desportes, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://www.flickr.com/photos/hdport/9100717567/
- (c) cjsolberg, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by cjsolberg
- Adapted by hancnaturalist from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megascops_asio
