Family: Strigidae, Owls view all from this family
Description 7-10" (18-25 cm). A small, mottled gray owl with ear tufts. Eastern Screech-Owl (Otus asio) of East overlaps with Western in small part of western Texas; gray phase of Eastern almost identical to Western but has different call: a tremulous descending wail. See also Whiskered Screech-Owl.
Habitat Woodlands, orchards, yards with many trees.
Nesting 4 or 5 white eggs in a natural cavity, a woodpecker's hole, or even a man-made nest box.
Range Resident from southeastern Alaska and British Columbia southward into Mexico and east throughout U.S. Rockies.
Voice An accelerating "bouncing ball" series of 6-8 low whistles, often dropping in pitch toward the end. Also a quick series on 1 pitch.
Discussion This common owl incubates each egg as it is laid. Thus the eggs hatch in sequence and the young within a brood vary widely in size and age. This allows the parents to raise all their young if food is plentiful, or only the first few if food is scarce. This pattern is widespread among owls and birds of prey that feed on mice and meadow moles, whose populations fluctuate widely.
