screech owl

[For the right pronunciation of ‘screech’, please click here & for the right pronunciation of ‘owl’, please click here.]

a kind of bird – one of the several species of the owl family – meat-eating – nocturnal (= active at night) – medium-sized owl with grey or brown feather colour with white patterns, large, round face with large, round eyes placed on the front of the face, two tufts of feathers on either side of the head, called ‘ear tufts’, medium-sized, sharp, down-curved beak (bill), short neck almost hidden in the feathers, upright body, short legs (mostly hidden in the feathers) with sharp claws ,medium-sized tail; size: 8-10 inches in length, and 150-200 grams (female larger than male); feeds on large insects, small animals such as lizards, frogs, small snakes, mice, bats, and other small animals, and some species feed on fish and other water animals; lives for 5-10 years in the wild, and up to 20 years in captivity; several sub-species native to Americas

Special Features:
The call of a typical owl is called a “hoot”, but the call of a ‘screech owl’ is called a ‘screech”!

ear tufts like horns

The two ‘ear tufts’ on either side of the head are not really ears; they are just for decoration or to make itself look frightening! Like the other species of owls, screech owls eat their prey with its fur, bone, feathers, teeth, nails, etc., which are not normally digested, and are spit out in the form of small balls called ‘owl pellets’.  Animal experts find out about more facts about owls by studying these ‘owl pellets’!

In some societies, the ‘screech’ of a screech owl at midnight is said to bring evil!