It’s difficult to ID Eastern and Western screech-owl species—location is your best bet. Hear their call and learn about their size and nests.
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Screech-Owl Species
Three screech-owls are found in North America: eastern, western and whiskered. But about 22 screech-owl species are found in the world, all in the Americas.
Estimated breeding populations of screech-owls in the U.S. and Canada vary by species with eastern at 680,000, western at 220,000 and whiskered at only 500 in southern New Mexico and Arizona.
Long classified as a single species, eastern and western screech-owls were identified as distinct in 1983 based on differing sounds and markings.
Screech-Owl Fossils
In Idaho, unearthed fossilized owls related to modern screech-owls date back 3.5 million years.
What Does an Eastern Screech-Owl Look Like?
The eastern screech-owl has both a gray and a red morph. About a third of easterns end up with the rufous coloring. Look for heavy streaks below and darker bars on the back, small ear-like tufts on the head and a yellow bill.
What Does a Western Screech-Owl Look Like?
The western screech-owl sports a gray look, but some birds are more brown. Essentially identical to the eastern’s gray morph, though westerns have darker bills.
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Screech-Owl Size
Small and stocky, a screech-owl measures 8-1/2 inches long, or about the size of a beer glass, with a wingspan of 20 inches.
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Screech-Owl Nest and Eggs
As they lose habitat to development, these owls need friendly places to call home. Both the eastern and western owls use nesting boxes.
Hang up a box in your yard to encourage them to stick around. The birds will use the box for both roosting and nesting.
The female lays four to five white eggs in debris at the bottom of a nesting cavity.
Baby Screech-Owls
If you yearn for your very own owl visitors, it is possible to attract them to your yard. Birds & Blooms reader Janet Kirk of Fort Myers, Florida, has proof that patience pays off. She put up a nest box several years ago, and a female owl finally moved in. A month later, the owl’s mate showed up, and eventually Janet and her family watched three baby owls fledge.
What Do Screech-Owls Eat?
Their diet consists of insects, including worms and moths, small mammals, other birds, fish, spiders and reptiles. These owls are fond of water, so get in the habit of looking for one at your bird bath or water feature at night.
The bones, fur and feathers of a screech-owl’s prey are regurgitated in the form of a pellet one or two times a day.
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What Does a Screech-Owl Sound Like?
You won’t hear this bird arrive because an owl’s feathers are specially made for silence—the super soft surface and fringed edges keep prey (and us) from hearing them swoop in. But you may hear their distinctive calls after dark.
Screech-owls produce up to nine different sounds, including trills, low hoots, squeals and barks. They also snap their bills when alarmed.
Eastern-Screech Owl Call
The eastern owl makes a tremulous wailing whinny or a long trill. May give a screech-like noise if defensive.
Western Screech-Owl Call
The western owl makes an accelerating series of short whistles, or a very staccato hooting song, like a bouncing ball, with a short trill followed by a longer trill.
Bird songs provided by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Habitat and Range Maps
Look for these owls in any kinds of woodlands, as well as parks, backyards and deserts.
Eastern Screech-Owl Range
You might see screech-owls from the East Coast, reaching up into parts of the Northeast and down into Florida, out through the Great Plains.
Western Screech-Owl Range
You can spot this species from Colorado and western Texas to the Pacific Coast, south into Mexico and north to parts of Alaska.
Range maps provided by Kaufman Field Guides, the official field guide of Birds & Blooms.
Next, learn about northern saw-whet owls.
