Northern Saw-whet Owl

Aegolius acadicus

Order STRIGIFORMES - Family STRIGIDAE

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Food
8. Behavior
9. Reproduction
10. Conservation Status
11. Other Names

A small owl of all types of woodlands, the Northern Saw-whet Owl can be found roosting in winter in small, dense conifer trees, sometimes even in parks and gardens. Its defense upon discovery is to sit still and not fly, leading people to perceive them as "tame."

Cool Facts

• The main prey items of the Northern Saw-whet Owl are mice, and especially deer mice of the genus Peromyscus. Adult mice usually are eaten in pieces in two different meals. One owl was found dead after apparently trying to swallow a large mouse whole.

• The female Northern Saw-whet Owl does the incubation and brooding. The male brings all her food while she is incubating. She leaves the eggs for only one or two short trips each night, to defecate and cough up a pellet.

• While the female saw-whet broods her nestlings, she keeps the nest cavity very clean. But, when the young are about 18 days old, she starts spending the night in another hole, and then the dirt starts to accumulate. When the young owls leave the nest after another ten days to two weeks, the nest cavity has a thick layer of feces, pellets, and rotting prey parts.

Description

• Size: 18-21 cm (7-8 in)
• Wingspan: 42-48 cm (17-19 in)
• Weight: 65-151 g (2.29-5.33 ounces)

• Small owl.
• No ear tufts.
• Face white, outlined in brown and white.
• Underparts white streaked with brown.
• Eyes yellow.
• Bill black.

• Back, wings, and tail brown spotted with white.
• White streaks on brown forehead.
• Y-shaped white marking between and above eyes.

Sex Differences

Sexes alike in plumage, female larger.

Immature

Upperparts completely dark brown, underparts bright buff. White Y on face, made up of eyebrows and white mark between eyes. Lacks white spots on back.

Similar Species

• Boreal Owl larger, with yellow bill, white spotting on dark brown crown, and black outline to face. Juvenile boreal with darker brown underparts, and white X, not Y on face.
• Screech-owls have ear tufts and black streaking on chest.
• Northern Pygmy-Owl smaller and slimmer, with a long tail, a dark face, and small white spots on sides.

Sound

Song a series of whistled toots.

»listen to songs of this species

Range

Summer Range

Breeds from southern Alaska eastward to Nova Scotia, southward to northern United States, and further southward in mountains.

Winter Range

Winters throughout breeding range, and southward across the United States.

Habitat

Breeds in all types of forests within its range. Winters in a variety of habitats with dense vegetation for roosting.

Food

Woodland mice. Occasionally some small birds and large insects.

Behavior

Foraging

Hunts at night from low perches.

Reproduction

Nest Type

Nests in tree cavity, usually old woodpecker hole. Adds no nesting material. Also uses nest boxes.

Egg Description

White.

Clutch Size

Usually 5-6 eggs. Range: 4-10.

Condition at Hatching

hatching Helpless, eyes closed, covered in white down.

Conservation Status

Few data exist on population trends.

Other Names

Petite nyctale (French)
Lechucita cabezona, Tecolotito cabezon (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

Cannings, R. J. 1993. Northern Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus). In The Birds of North America, No. 42 (A. Poole, and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.