Species BirdsWestern Screech-Owl

Western Screech-Owl

Megascops kennicottii

CommonBird
Illustration of Western Screech-Owl (Megascops kennicottii)

The Western Screech-Owl is the western counterpart of the Eastern Screech-Owl and is similarly small and cryptic. Its call is a series of whistles accelerating into a trill — quite different from the eastern bird's whinny. It inhabits desert saguaro forests, suburban trees, and mountain forests. The two species were considered the same until the 1980s.

Habitat
Desert washes, suburban trees, and forests of western North America
Diet
Mice, insects, beetles, and small birds
How common
Common

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