Eastern Screech Owl (Otus asio)

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A Field Guide to Eastern Birds. by Roger Tory Peterson.

Return to Eastern Owls

Color Photographs: © Corel Corp.

Eastern Screech Owl (Otus asio)

Identification: Length from tip of bill to tip of tail 10 inches.

Adult (Brown form): A small owl, with variegated rusty-brown and white coloration. Head "eared" (tufts of feathers on either side of the head) and eyes yellow. Back rusty-brown. Underside white with dark brown streaks.

Adult (Gray form): Similar to the brown form, but gray.

Similar Species:  The Eastern Screech Owl is easily separated from all other eastern Owls by the combination of small size and prominent "ears". The closest relative of the Eastern Screech Owl is the Western Screech Owl. The two species are nearly identical in outward appearance, but their ranges only overlap in eastern Colorado and southern Texas. The two species differ in their calls. The two species are best separated by the differences in bill color; the bill of the Eastern Screech Owl is yellow-gray, but that of the Western Screech Owl gray or black.

Breeding Range (see map below): The Screech Owl is resident throughout the eastern and central United States, just entering southeastern Canada in the north.

Overwintering Range:  See above.

Habitat:  The Eastern Screech Owl is found in open deciduous woods, suburban areas, orchards, and along lakeshores.

Food: This species eat a wide variety of prey including insects, small mammals, birds, and herps.

Behavior: Like almost all owls, the Screech Owl is a nocturnal hunter. They are difficult to spot in the daytime because of their cryptic coloration. The Screech Owl is a stout defeneder of its nest. One of the truly weird experiences of walking through the woods at night is to be whapped on the head by a Screech Owl. You don't hear them coming and are never really sure what happened. The voice is a vibrating, descending wail. If a Screech lives near your house and you don't know what the call is, it can be quite unnerving.

Reproduction:  The clutch consists of 3 to 8 white eggs. The eggs are laid without a nest in a tree hole.