The western screech owl (''Megascops kennicottii'') is a small
owl
Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...
native to North and Central America, closely related to the
eastern screech owl
The eastern screech owl (''Megascops asio'') or eastern screech-owl, is a small typical owl, owl that is relatively common in Eastern North America, from Mexico to Canada. This species is native to most wooded environments of its distribution, a ...
. The scientific name commemorates the American naturalist
Robert Kennicott
Robert Kennicott (November 13, 1835 – May 13, 1866) was an American naturalist and herpetologist. Chronic illness kept Kennicott out of school as a child. Instead, Kennicott spent most of his time outdoors, collecting plants and animals. Hi ...
.
Description
Length averages , wingspan , and weight . Weight ranges from .
[''CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses'' by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (1992), .] Females are larger than males and northern populations are notably larger than southern populations. Adults are larger than
whiskered screech owl
The whiskered screech owl (''Megascops trichopsis'') is a small screech owl found in North and Central America.
Description
Adults occur in 2 color morphs, in either brown or dark grey plumage. They have a round head with ear tufts, yellow eyes ...
s, with larger feet and a more streaked plumage pattern.
There are several morphs: brown Pacific, grey Pacific, Great Plains, Mojave, and Mexican. All have either brown or dark gray plumage with streaking on the underparts. There is no red morph. This brown and gray streaky coloring allows the owl to camouflage with trees and hide from predators.
They have a round head with ear tufts, yellow eyes, and a yellowish bill. Their appearance is quite similar to whiskered and
eastern screech owl
The eastern screech owl (''Megascops asio'') or eastern screech-owl, is a small typical owl, owl that is relatively common in Eastern North America, from Mexico to Canada. This species is native to most wooded environments of its distribution, a ...
s, so it is best to identify them by their calls. They were previously considered to be the same species as the eastern screech owl.
[''The Sibley Guide to Birds'', by David Allen Sibley, ]
Call
The primary call is an accelerating series of short whistles at an increasing tempo or a short then long trill falling slightly at end. Other calls: barking and chuckling, similar to the eastern screech owl.
They also make a high pitched screech.
The two primary songs for the Western Screen Owl are the bounce and double trill. In a recent study, researchers utilizes sonographic analysis of tape-recorded vocalizations to analyze whether the songs differ in male and females and if so, how accurately could songs be classified by sex. It was discovered that on average, male bounce songs were ~30% lower in frequency than bounce songs of females. However, song duration, note duration, number of notes per bout, and internet duration did not differ. For trill songs, males were also significantly lower in frequency compared to those of females. In addition, female double trill songs had greater internet distances in the leading portion.
Range and habitat
The western screech owl is native to
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
,
Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
,
El Salvador
El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...
,
Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
,
Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
, and
Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...
.
Its
habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
includes temperate forests, subtropical and tropical montane forests, shrubland, desert, rural fields, and even suburban parks and gardens.
Breeding
Western screech owls are permanent residents of the northwest region of
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography.
Etymology
T ...
and
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
, breeding in open
woods or mixed woods at forest edges. When attracting a female, a male brings her food and creates a series of clicking noises. During courtship, the pair
preens each other’s feathers and sing duets with each other.
Once a male and female become a pair, they produce a clutch of 2-7 eggs.
The male delivers food to the female as she
broods
Broods is a New Zealand musical duo from Nelson, composed of Georgia Josiena Nott on lead vocals, with older brother and multi-instrumentalist Caleb Allan Joseph Nott on production and backing vocals. They released the single "Bridges", which w ...
, and once the eggs hatch, the male continues to provide food which the female feeds to the owlets.
Both mates then protect their owlets by guarding their tree cavity from dangers such as snakes, jays, and crows. The female is inseparable from her young for their first three weeks of life, but afterwards she joins the male in hunting for two weeks until the baby owls are ready to leave the nest.
Nesting
Rather than living in traditional nests, Western Screech Owls reside in cavities in trees, banks, or cliffs.
Of these cavities, the tree species vary. They include, but are not limited to
oaks,
willows
Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...
, cottonwoods, and cacti.
These cavities are around 1 feet in diameter and up to 1.5 feet deep.
More often than not, these cavities are found by the male owl and were made by natural causes or other species such as
woodpeckers
Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions. M ...
. They could nest in these cavities for several years.
The cavities serve not only as shelter, but also as a camouflaging device against potential predators.
The height for these nests range from approximately 10 to 30 feet above ground.
Hunting and Prey
These nocturnal birds wait on perches to swoop down on unsuspecting prey; they may also
catch insects in flight. They are active at dawn, night, or near dusk, using their excellent hearing and night vision to locate prey. Their diet consists mainly of small mammals such as mice or rats, birds, and large insects; however they are opportunistic predators, even taking to small trout, scorpions, crayfish and smaller birds. Their diet varies based on the season and where exactly they reside.
Motion-activated cameras have photographed the birds eagerly scavenging a road-kill opossum. They have also been known to hunt Mallard ducks and cottontail rabbits, occasionally. Hatching of their young is synchronized with the spring migration of birds; after migrants pass through screech-owls take fledglings of local birds.
Conservation Status
Although the Western Screech Owl species is slowly declining in the
Pacific northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...
, the species is considered “of low conservation concern” due to their nocturnality and general ability to live alongside humans in surrounding trees. Their population is estimated to be 180,000 according to the Avian Conservation Assessment Database Scores.
In areas densely populated by people, human noise can be a disturbance to their creation of nest cavities and human devastation of forests negatively impacts their habitat.
Climate disasters such as fires and heat waves can endanger their livelihood. Humans have made efforts to provide manmade shelter, such as nest boxes, for Western Screech-Owls. The owls have proven to be receptive to these habitats.
Subspecies
There are 9 recognized
subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
:
*''
Megascops kennicottii aikeni
Screech owls are typical owls (Strigidae) belonging to the genus ''Megascops'' with 23 living species. For most of the 20th century, this genus was merged with the Old World scops owls in ''Otus'', but nowadays it is again considered separate ...
'' Brewster, 1891
*''
Megascops kennicottii bendirei
Screech owls are typical owls (Strigidae) belonging to the genus ''Megascops'' with 23 living species. For most of the 20th century, this genus was merged with the Old World scops owls in ''Otus'', but nowadays it is again considered separat ...
'' (Brewster, 1882)
*''
Megascops kennicottii cardonensis
Screech owls are typical owls (Strigidae) belonging to the genus ''Megascops'' with 23 living species. For most of the 20th century, this genus was merged with the Old World scops owls in ''Otus'', but nowadays it is again considered separat ...
'' (Huey, 1926)
*''Megascops kennicottii kennicottii'' (Elliot, 1867)
*''
Megascops kennicottii macfarlanei
Screech owls are typical owls (Strigidae) belonging to the genus ''Megascops'' with 23 living species. For most of the 20th century, this genus was merged with the Old World scops owls in ''Otus'', but nowadays it is again considered separat ...
'' Brewster, 1891
*''
Megascops kennicottii suttoni
Screech owls are typical owls (Strigidae) belonging to the genus ''Megascops'' with 23 living species. For most of the 20th century, this genus was merged with the Old World scops owls in ''Otus'', but nowadays it is again considered separat ...
'' (R. T. Moore, 1941)
*''
Megascops kennicottii vinaceus'' Brewster, 1888
*''
Megascops kennicottii xantusi'' Brewster, 1902
*''
Megascops kennicottii yumanensis'' (A. H. Miller & L. Miller, 1951)
Gallery
western-screech-owl.jpg, Captive bird at the Desert Museum
Western Screech Owl In Hole.jpg, Nest hole
Western Screech-Owl (Megascops kennicottii) (17026365169).jpg, Perched
Notes
References
* ''National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North'' – ''America''
*''Handbook of the Birds of the World Vol 5'', J. del Hoyo, editor.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1264818
western screech owl
The western screech owl (''Megascops kennicottii'') is a small owl native to North and Central America, closely related to the eastern screech owl. The scientific name commemorates the American naturalist Robert Kennicott.
Description
Length a ...
Native birds of Western Canada
Native birds of the Western United States
Birds of Mexico
western screech owl
The western screech owl (''Megascops kennicottii'') is a small owl native to North and Central America, closely related to the eastern screech owl. The scientific name commemorates the American naturalist Robert Kennicott.
Description
Length a ...
western screech owl
The western screech owl (''Megascops kennicottii'') is a small owl native to North and Central America, closely related to the eastern screech owl. The scientific name commemorates the American naturalist Robert Kennicott.
Description
Length a ...
western screech owl
The western screech owl (''Megascops kennicottii'') is a small owl native to North and Central America, closely related to the eastern screech owl. The scientific name commemorates the American naturalist Robert Kennicott.
Description
Length a ...
External Resources
(CC) bird calls of Tecolote occidental, Western Screech-Owl, Western Screech Owl, (Otus kennicotti), (Scops kennicottii), (Otus kennicottii)