The Eastern Screech Owl

These little fellows are seriously cute. Their diminutive size makes you want to say, ‘Aww’; and with forward facing eyes, they look almost human.

Like most owls, Eastern Screech-Owls are often heard and not seen. Because of their cryptic coloring they can blend into tree bark. But wherever mature trees are found, screech-owls may also be found.

Birders use a taped screech-owl call to rouse other birds when they are not visible. Screech-owls are predators of small birds; so when titmice, chickadees, blue-jays, and the like hear its distinctive call, they immediately sound the alarm to other birds, especially the young ones. Jumping to the top of the bush, they start looking for the owl; if the owl is present, they ‘mob’ or chase it away. When bird watchers sound the screech-owl call, the birds just hop around looking annoyed while we get to see birds that weren’t showing themselves otherwise.

I had heard a taped screech-owl call while birding, but I had never seen one in person. Their call is not really a screech but a tremolo with a descending whinny. It is very unique and kind of eerie. 

A couple of months after moving into my then-new house in Lafayette, I woke up at 2 am with that descending whinny going on right outside my bedroom window. I felt fairly certain it wasn’t a birder playing a tape; and when I woke up enough, realized I had the real McCoy hanging out in my yard.

The next day I put up a wooden bird box on a pole. Within two days, the gray morph of the Eastern Screech-Owl had moved in and was a resident at the same address as me.

He (or she?) lived in that box during the fall and winter every year for three years. In the morning I would sit at my kitchen table with a cup of coffee and watch him stick his head out, surveying the yard around his box. Much as I wanted to see owlets, the bachelor-pad box never produced a family. It was strictly used for roosting.

I haven’t seen another screech-owl since, though I’ve heard them on many birding trips. A friend once had two screech-owls come in close in response to her taped call. They tried to attack the recorder—and each other—in an effort to defend their territory. Screech-owls may be small, but they don’t lack fierceness.

Three years ago I moved to the most wooded yard I have ever had. All sorts of critters visit my backyard, some furry, some scaly and many with feathers. I keep hoping to get lucky again and hear a midnight serenade outside my window.

Description: Robin-size owl with virtually no neck; rounded wings with short, square tail; ear tufts on big head with yellow eyes; males are slightly smaller than the females and come in two color morphs: gray and red.

When: Permanent residents in Louisiana; generally like deciduous or mixed woods, but can be found anywhere with open ground and large trees. Screech-owls have adapted well to life in city parks and suburbs, roosting in holes during the day and becoming active at night.

Breeding: The male bows, raises his wings, and clicks his bill around the female. Once mated, the pair preen each other’s feathers. Screech-owls nest in abandoned tree cavities or artificial nest boxes, laying four to six white eggs. Both color morphs can occur in one brood.

Feeding: Screech-owls are good mousers; they also eat birds, shrews, bats, moths, lizards, frogs, earthworms, and crayfish.

Interesting facts: Eastern Screech-Owl pairs usually are monogamous and mate for life. Some males, however, will mate with two different females. The second female may evict the first female, lay her own eggs in the nest, and incubate both clutches.

Happy birding!   

For comments or questions, Harriett can be reached at harriett.pooler@gmail.com.