Average Height: 7-10 inches

Average Weight: ¼ - ½ pound (4-8 oz.)

Wingspan:  1 ½ - 2 feet

Lifespan:  7-8 years in wild, up to 17 years in captivity

Description:  The Screech Owl is the smallest owl with feather tufts (eartufts) in the Eastern U.S. There are two different color phases- red and gray. The chest and belly is heavily barred. The female is generally larger than the male.

Call:  The Screech Owl does not screech, but has a rather eerie, mournful whinny which rises then falls down the scale.

Range:  The Eastern Screech Owl covers the majority of the eastern U.S. and extreme Southern Canada, from the Atlantic coast west through plains, south to Gulf of Mexico.

The Western Screech Owl lives throughout the Pacific coast east through the Rockies.

Habitat:  Screech Owls are commonly spotted in small woodlots, swamps and old orchards, but are also common in urban and suburban areas.

Diet:  Hunting soon after dusk, the Screech Owl feeds extensively on insects, but also eats small rodents, small amphibians and occasionally small birds.