EASTERN
SCREECH OWL
#ESL-400
Notecards
Also available in Notecard Assortment Packs #AST-401
, #AST-402 & #AST-403
#LE-ESL-400 Limited Edition Print
If
you try to locate a screech owl by listening for a screech, you’ll
be disappointed. This owl’s call sounds more like a mournful
whinny.
Only
seven to ten inches tall, the yellow-eyed owl has ear tufts, unlike
other small eastern owls. No other tufted owl is bright red-brown.
(Some screech owls are gray.)
Strictly
nocturnal, the eastern screech owl favors open woodlands and clearings,
where it hunts for mice, large insects, bats, crayfish, fish,
frogs, earthworms and birds (even other screech owls). They usually
nest in tree cavities, where they can avoid the daytime harassment
of other birds.
Because
they eat rodents and insects, these owls are considered by many
people to be a treasured asset to the garden. However, screech
owls can be overly defensive parents: They’ve been known
to knock hats off people walking beneath their nestlings.
The
eastern screech owl can be found from Manitoba, Ontario and New
England south to Texas and Florida. It is nearly identical to
the western screech owl, which is widespread in the Rockies.
Text © 1997 Terry White, Drawing ©
1997 Bill Harrah
.
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