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Saw-Whet Owl

With a body length of eight inches and an 18-inch wingspan, the saw-whet is the smallest Pennsylvania owl. Its plumage is dull chocolate-brown above, spotted with white, and its undersides are white spotted with dark reddish-brown. Juveniles are a rich chocolate-brown over most of their bodies. This species has no ear tufts.

The saw-whet's call is a mellow, whistled note repeated mechanically, often between 100 and 130 times a minute: too, too, too, too, too, etc. This sound suggests the rasping made when sharpening a saw--hence the bird's name. The saw-whet is nocturnal and seldom seen. By day, it roosts in young, dense hemlocks or thickets.

Saw-whet owls breed from March to April; they nest in deserted woodpecker and squirrel holes, hollow trees or stumps and nesting boxes. Females lay 4-6 eggs that hatch after 21-28 days. Immatures leave the nest when about a month old. Saw-whets feed on insects, mice, frogs, bats, voles, shrews and small birds. In turn, they are preyed upon by barred and great horned owls.

Short-Eared Owl

Also called the marsh owl, the short-eared visits Pennsylvania mainly in winter. It is a crow-size owl (body length 13-17 inches, weight 15 ounces) with long wings (up to a 42-inch wingspan). Its upper plumage is streaked and buff-brown, with large buffy areas on the upper wing surfaces; the breast is pale, boldly streaked with brown. The short-eared owl's ear tufts are small and hard to see, but its ear openings are large and its hearing excellent.

The short-eared is fairly diurnal (active in the day). It hunts over open country, and its irregular, flopping flight resembles that of a nighthawk or large moth. The short-eared is a fairly silent owl but occasionally sounds an emphatic, sneezy bark, keaw, keaw, or a hooting call described as boo, boo, boo.

At winter's end, most short-eared owls leave Pennsylvania and head north. Some remain in our state to breed, nesting in slight depressions in the earth or sand sparsely lined with grasses, weed stalks and feathers. Bushes or clumps of weeds often hide the nest. The female lays 4-7 eggs and incubates them about 21 days until they hatch.

Mice form over 75 percent of this owl's diet, but it also preys on shrews, rats and small birds. The short-eared depends mainly on its sense of hearing to locate mice. This owl avoids woodland; it is found in open country, fresh or saltwater marshes and boggy land.

Screech Owl

The screech owl is the only small Pennsylvania owl with ear tufts. It is 10 inches long, with a 22-inch wingspan and a 6-7 ounce body weight. The species is dichromatic, i.e. exhibiting two color phases--gray and red--independent of age or sex, consistent from first plumage to old age and frequently found in a single brood. Gray phase birds are a dappled brownish-gray; red phase individuals are chestnut-red, also dappled. The pale breast and belly are streaked with dark gray or chestnut, depending on the color phase. In Pennsylvania, the gray phase is probably ten times more common than the red phase.

A screech owl's call is termed a "quavering whistle," "mournful wail" or "long, descending whinny with tremolo, repeated at irregular intervals" (huhuhuhuhu, etc.).

Screech owls nest in unlined cavities of hollow trees, in abandoned holes of flickers and pileated woodpeckers and even in birdhouses. In March, the female lays 4-5 eggs; incubation takes 26 days. After hatching, young remain in the nest for one month.

Large insects such as grasshoppers, moths and beetles, mice, shrews, small birds, crayfish, frogs and flying squirrels form the screech owl's diet; most non-insect food is taken during winter. Screech owls hunt by flying low and swiftly over fields. Common in our state, they live in farm woodlots, orchards, stream edges and wooded areas of towns and cities.

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