Eastern Screech Owl

This is an Eastern Screech Owl sleeping after a night’s hunting. It has found a nice hole in an old tree to nestle into for safety and protection from the wind.

Eastern Screech Owls are a small owl, less than 10 inches (25 cm) long. That’s about the size of an American Robin or a European Starling. They have a range of colorations: gray, brown and rufous. This one is a rufous-morph. Screech Owls are diverse and ferocious hunters and will capture insects, reptiles, amphibians, birds and mammals. They look cute but they were referred to as feathered wildcats by early writers. They hunt mostly at night and at dusk or dawn. They are hard to find during the day as you might guess from the photo. There is no mistaking their calls at night though! You can listen to their various calls on the Cornell Lab website: Eastern Screech-Owl Sounds.