Eastern Screech-Owl (Megascops asio)

Blind Snakes and Screech-Owls

August 5, 2023 During the breeding season, when Eastern Screech-Owls capture the worm-like reptiles known as blind snakes, they deliver them to their chicks alive and wriggling. Some are gulped down immediately, but others escape by burrowing beneath the nest. The surviving “snakes” feed on the insect

Screech-Owls Go Fishing

November 8, 2022 Screech-owls are opportunistic diners. In the Pacific Northwest, they’ll prey on small birds, crayfish, large ants, or earthworms. In Arizona, pocket mice and pack rats. And in Ohio, biologists who noticed a fishy smell around Eastern Screech-Owl nest boxes found the remains of dozens of

Night Voices of Summer

July 16, 2022 At the close of a summer day, the songbirds go silent. As if on cue, the birds of the night make their voices known. In an Eastern woodland, the eerie trills and whinnies of an Eastern Screech-Owl are among the first sounds of the night. Meanwhile, as night falls west of the Rockies, a

The Amazing, Head-turning Owl

October 31, 2021 An owl's seeming ability to rotate its head in a complete circle is downright eerie. An owl's apparent head rotation is part illusion, part structural design. Because its eyes are fixed in their sockets, it must rotate its neck to look around. It can actually rotate its head about 270

Screech-Owls Are Looking for a Home

January 30, 2021 Looking for a project this winter? Consider giving screech-owls a helping hand. Eastern and Western Screech-Owls span the wooded areas of the continent, nesting in tree cavities left vacant by large woodpeckers. However, such natural housing opportunities are often in short supply. That’s

Denver Holt - It's About People

March 11, 2013 When Denver Holt began his owl research 30 years ago, he was focused on disseminating his findings to the scientific community. Today, he believes that sharing information with both wildlife managers and citizens will make an important difference for owls – including this Long-eared Owl.