Western Screech-Owl

Megascops kennicottii

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 common small owl of the West, the Western Screech-Owl can be found in urban as well as wild lands.

Cool Facts

• Occasionally takes prey larger than itself, including cottontail rabbits and Mallards.

• Western Screech-Owls are vulnerable to habitat loss because of urban development.

• Until recently it was considered the same species as the Eastern Screech-Owl.

Description

• Size: 19-25 cm (7-10 in)
• Wingspan: 55-62 cm (22-24 in)
• Weight: 100-305 g (3.53-10.77 ounces)

• A small owl.
• Feathered ear tufts.
• Gray or gray-brown with small black streaks on feathers.

• Eyes yellow.
• Bill black or dark gray.
• Feet and legs feathered.

Sex Differences

Sexes alike in plumage, female larger.

Immature

Like adult.

Similar Species

• Eastern Screech-Owl has thicker streaks on chest feathers and paler bill.
• Whiskered Screech-Owl has more orange eyes, and yellowish bill.

Sound

Series of short whistled hoots, more closely spaced at end of series.

»listen to songs of this species

Range

Summer Range

Resident at lower elevations from south coastal Alaska through central Mexico, eastward to Colorado and central Texas.

Habitat

• Lives in diversity of habitats, but associates with riparian habitats and deciduous trees.
• Also in urban and suburban parks and residential areas.

Food

Mammals, birds, worms, insects, and crayfish.

Behavior

Foraging

Sit-and-wait predator.

Reproduction

Nest Type

Nests in tree cavities; readily uses nest boxes. Adds no nesting material to cavity.

Egg Description

White.

Clutch Size

Usually 3-5 eggs. Range: 2-7.

Condition at Hatching

Covered in white down, eyes closed.

Conservation Status

Vulnerable to habitat loss because of urban development.

Other Names

Petit-duc des montagnes (French)
Tecolote occidental (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

Cannings, R. J., and T. Angell. 2001. Western Screech-Owl (Otus kennicottii). In The Birds of North America, No. 597 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.